Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 29
Against the backdrop of the gangrape of a 16-year-old Dalit girl at Dabra in Hisar district allegedly by persons belonging to the upper caste, the functioning of the beleaguered Hooda government is set to come under the scanner of the National Commission for Scheduled Caste (NCSC).

Getting tough with state government’s alleged failure to check the increasing crime against Dalits, the NCSC has decided to conduct a ‘state review’ of the government’s role vis-à-vis the plight of the Dalits in the state.

“The ‘state review’ will cover atrocities against Dalits, including a heinous crime like rape of Dalit women, and the government’s failure to implement various social justice schemes,” NCSC vice-chairperson Raj Kumar Verka told The Tribune on phone today.

Verka, who toured Hisar and Jind districts for an on-the-spot assessment of the two cases of gangrape involving Dalit women recently, alleged that there seemed to be a “deliberate attempt” and “deep-rooted conspiracy” to terrorise the Dalit community in the state. “The commission has already written to the Haryana Chief Minister to put in place sufficient measures to ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” Verka asserted.

Verka regretted that the Hooda government was yet to take a call on the constitution of the Haryana state scheduled caste commission as recommended by the NCSC. It could go a long way in redressing the grievances and instilling a sense of confidence among the Dalit community, he said. When asked about the NCSC’s recommendation for a state-level Dalit body, Hooda, at a press conference here yesterday, had expressed ignorance over the issue.

Even as a series of gangrapes, including those involving Dalit women, has sparked public outrage all over the country, PL Punia, NCSC chairperson and Congress MP, had locked horns with the Congress government in Haryana. “Anti-Dalit atrocities have been taking place on a large scale in Haryana. Haryana tops the list of crimes per lakh of population,” Punia is reported to have said.