THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police atrocities account for 50 percent of the cases before the State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, said its chairman Justice P N Vijayakumar.
“Illegal custody and harassment are the common complaints received. The police also show a lackadaisical attitude in dealing with cases filed by those from the SC and ST community,” he said at the valedictory of the three-day district-level grievance redressal adalat of the commission, here on Saturday.
He said an official not below the rank of DySP is authorised to investigate a police case involving atrocities against members of the SC and ST community. But this is not happening. In some instances, necessary provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act are not invoked in the FIR to help the accused secure bail.
“Police officers often skip commission hearings. The officers cite their preoccupations with law and order maintenance or other duties as reasons,” he said.Land issues, contamination of water bodies and service-related issues are other complaints the commission received. Despite efforts, over 4,000 cases are pending with the commission. There are hundreds of cases on the difficulties posed by quarries operating near SC and ST colonies. In 2016-17 the commission registered 27 cases suo motu.
Over 215 petitions were disposed of at the district-level adalat concluded on Saturday. “We focused on amicable settlement in a majority of cases to nurture harmony between different sections of society,” Vijayakumar said.The adalat received 25 new complaints.