Union Minister Ramdas Athawale says Rajasthan unsafe for Dalits

Athawale's statement comes in the wake of the death of a Dalit student who was allegedly beaten up by his teacher and suicide of a saint in the ashram near the foothills of Sundha Mata temple in Rajpura village of Jalore late on August 4.

Jodhpur: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and National President of the Republican Party of India Ramdas Athawale has said that atrocities on Dalits are on the rise in Rajasthan. Athawale was talking to the media after landing at the Jodhpur airport.

On a question on the death of a Dalit student in Jalore after allegedly being beaten up by the teacher, Athawale demanded capital punishment to the accused teacher.

Athawale said Dalits are not safe in Rajasthan. “I request Ashok Gehlot to pay attention to this,” he added. Athawale was scheduled to visit the deceased student's family in Jalore and the ashram of Sant Ravinath in Rajpura, Jalore where the saint allegedly hanged himself. The union minister said he will try to ensure all possible help to the bereaved families.

Over a question on the BJP distancing from the saint's suicide in which the name of a BJP leader surfaced, Athawale said that the BJP “should play the role it has to play, but I and our society stand with the victim's family”. Indra Meghwal, a student of a private school in Surana village of Rajasthan's Jalore district, was beaten up by his teacher on July 20 for allegedly touching a drinking water pot.

The boy succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad on August 13. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in a letter to the district magistrate said the matter is serious and sought copies of the FIR, action taken by the administration against the accused, and a transcript of the action taken by police within seven days.

The accused teacher Sher Singh was arrested by the police. The government also constituted SIT on Friday to investigate the matter. Sadhu Ravinath allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the ashram near the foothills of Sundha Mata temple in Rajpura village of Jalore late on August 4. A suicide note was also found by the police from the spot in which the victim blamed a BJP leader.