Dalit death: NHRC seeks report from Gujarat

New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notice to the Gujarat government over the death of a Dalit ragpicker, who was beaten to death by five men in Rajkot on Sunday. It has given the BJP government four weeks time.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of media report that a 40-year-old Dalit ragpicker was beaten to death at Shapar village on May 20, allegedly over the issue of collecting scraps in the area, the NHRC said in a statement.

The rights commission issued the notice to the Gujarat Chief Secretary and also asked for a report on the measures being taken for relief to the affected family.

Following a complaint lodged by the victim's wife, the Gujarat Police registered a case of murder besides other charges against five unidentified persons under the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims.

On Sunday, Mukesh Vaniya, 40, was tied up and brutally thrashed by the factory owner and workers of Radadiya Industries in Shapar-Veraval area of Rajkot district. 

Vaniya, who was accused of trying to steal from the factory, died late on Sunday. 

The entire incident was captured on CCTV and the footage later went viral on social media, with Vadgam MLA and Dalit rights activist Jignesh Mevani tweeting the news with hashtag "Gujarat is not safe for Dalits".

The incident took place when Vaniya and his wife Champaben, who are ragpickers, were engaged in their usual work near Radadia Industries. 

Factory owner Jaysukh Radadia suspected that Vaniya was trying to steal from his factory. He and his workers soon caught Vaniya and his wife and began beating them with sticks, one after the other.

They allowed Champaben to go after some thrashing but continued hitting Vaniya. He was left badly injured at the place. Soon Champaben returned with some men and took Vaniya to the Rajkot Civil Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

While the police on Monday arrested four persons for the assault on the Dalit ragpicker, the state government promptly announced a financial compensation of Rs 8.25 lakh for the family of the deceased person. 

The police had also detained a fifth person, a juvenile, and were currently interrogating him but refused to reveal his identity till his involvement was proved.