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Ranchi, April 10: A report on the status of human rights released today by a forum of activists has painted a gloomy picture in Jharkhand with over 100 hunger deaths, 7,563 reported rapes, 3,398 cases of dowry atrocities and 576 custody deaths in its first decade.
The report titled Jharkhand Human Rights Report 2001-2010, compiled by the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement, also cited 174 rapes of tribal women and 194 cases of atrocities on tribals, shockingly because of their identity alone.
Rights activist Gladson Dundung, also a member of the Jharkhand Human Rights Movement, said, “While compiling the report, we felt that human rights violations have been rampant in Jharkhand and the state government could have controlled many of the cases, had it wanted.”
“Of the 100 hunger deaths, 40 are from primitive tribe groups. Most of the deaths are noticed in Palamau, Chatra, Ranchi, Ramgarh, Koderma, Hazaribagh, Godda, Dumka and Giridih,” Dungdung said.
The report has also accumulated figures from the National Crime Records Bureau and annual reports of the National Human Rights Commission, besides field verification.
Highlighting the plight of dalits, the findings also report 60 murders, 106 rapes of dalit women and 1,437 cases of dalit atrocities as well as 19 cases of untouchability since the formation of Jharkhand.
Also, 249 cases of child atrocities including six cases of sale and purchase of children for prostitution have been reported.
Besides, the report mentions that 550 persons were killed in encounters, 4,372 arrested on charges of being Naxalites, though only 315 of them were found to be rebels while the remaining 4,057 persons were yet to be proved guilty.
The report does not spare the rebels either, reporting cases of human rights violation on their part. As many as 4,430 Naxalite incidents of violence have taken place, in which 1,878 persons including 399 security personnel have been killed.
The report was jointly released by Mandar legislator Bandhu Tirkey and Sisai MLA Geetashree Oraon in the presence of several rights activists including Stan Swamy, Sunil Minz and Jerome Gerald Kujur.
Jharkhand statehood leader Prabhakar Tirkey was also present.
The activists agreed that the state government did not admit hunger deaths in Jharkhand though such incidents were noticed in various districts when the team members paid field visits to collect data for their report during the past one year.
This is first report in Jharkhand compiling violations of human rights including all its aspects.
Tirkey observed that human rights violation, particularly atrocities on tribals, by the police either in the name of fighting Naxalites or in collusion with the oppressors, actually exists in large numbers across the state.
“In the state capital itself, I get complaints of many oppressors trying to grab tribal lands and the police support them, instead of standing with the victims,” Tirkey added.
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