BHUBANESWAR: A Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Protection Cell and several targeted interventions notwithstanding, Odisha continues to struggle with rising atrocities against the vulnerable tribal communities including caste-based violence.
The Crime in India-2024 report of NCRB points out that atrocities against STs increased from 624 in 2020 to 773 in 2022. The cases are related to murder, attempt to murder, outraging women’s modesty, rape and criminal intimidation. The conviction rate in crimes against STs is just 19.6 pc.
However, SCs are more prone to atrocities than STs. Crime against SCs increased from 2,046 in 2020 to 2,902 in 2022. These atrocities are also murders, attempts to murder, criminal intimidation and rape. Although cases are registered, the conviction rate is only 16.1 per cent.
This, despite the fact that Odisha is one of the five states that receives the majority of funds from the Centre to prevent atrocities against members of SCs and STs under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1989 and Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment runs a centrally-sponsored scheme for implementation of the two above-mentioned Acts at the state-level. Under it, Odisha received Rs 35.81 crore for preventing atrocities against STs and SCs and providing compensation to the victims, for the year 2024-25 (as on March 3, 2025). This puts Odisha in the fifth spot as far as these funds are concerned, after Uttar Pradesh (Rs 89.49 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 88.12 crore), Karnataka (Rs 48.66 crore) and Bihar (Rs 46.34 crore), pointing to a large number of cases.
According to a report by the ST and SC Development department, the Odisha government has already paid Rs 20.34 crore towards victim compensation in the last 10 months (from June last year till date) under the SC and the ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1989 and Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955. The compensation has been paid to 2,116 SC/ST atrocity victims.
While Balangir has the highest number of 202 victims, Puri, Jajpur, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Bargarh too, continue to be the hotspots for such crimes.
Activists blame poor implementation of the Act as the reason behind rise of such cases, and lack of free and fair trial for the atrocity victims in the state. Anil Mallik, a dalit rights activist, said, “In the last one year, two SC youths of Biridi (Jagatsinghpur) and Pipili (Puri) were made to walk throughout their villages with strings of chappals on their necks and their faces blackened on the allegations of theft. In Balangir, an ST girl was made to eat excreta. But, there have been no concrete action against the accused in these cases yet.”
REPORT
Balangir has the highest number of 202 atrocity victims
Puri, Jajpur, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Cuttack and Bargarh hotspots
SCs are more prone to atrocities than STs
Atrocities against SCs increased from 2,046 in 2020 to 2,902 in 2022
Despite case registration, conviction rate only 16.1 pc in case of SCs
Conviction rate in crimes against STs is only 19.6 pc