The chief minister of the southern Indian state of Telangana and its high court have ordered an inquiry into the custodial death of a Dalit Christian woman.
K. Chandrashekhar Rao also ordered authorities to take stringent action against police personnel responsible for the death of Ambadipudi Mariyamma.
Rao said his government would provide a government job to Mariyamma’s son, a house and an ex-gratia payment of 1.5 million rupees (US$20,200) and her two daughters would each receive 1 million rupees.
“It is a general practice by the government that whenever any such incidents take place here, it tries to pay money and compensate, but what about the lives lost? Can it bring back their loved ones?” Father Vijay Kumar Nayak, secretary of the Indian Catholic bishops’ office for Dalits and lower classes, told UCA News.
“There is no fear or respect for the law of the land among the so-called elite group who repeatedly harass and persecute Dalits, tribal people and the downtrodden. It is because they know that the law cannot touch them.
“Unless that mentality changes, we will witness such barbaric crimes against people who are weak and helpless due to their socioeconomic conditions.”
Last year deaths from alleged police torture in Tamil Nadu sparked outrage across India
He said other reasons for suppression of Dalits include their lack of awareness of their rights, poverty and illiteracy.
According to media reports, maid Mariyamma of Yadadri-Bhongir district was booked along with her minor son on June 17 by Addagudur police after a complaint of theft of 200,000 rupees by her employers.
However, Mariyamma’s relatives and daughter Swapna alleged that she was tortured by police in custody after her detention.
Mariyamma, 44, was found collapsed on June 18 at the police station and was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead.
Last year deaths from alleged police torture in Tamil Nadu sparked outrage across India, with many drawing parallels with the killing of George Floyd in the United States.
Meanwhile, Rao said his government will not tolerate such incidents and there will be swift action on the matter.
“The attitude towards the Dalits has to be changed. The behavior of the police especially towards the Dalits should be in favor of them and they should stand for their cause,” he said.
Telangana High Court on June 24 ordered a judicial probe into the custodial death of Mariyamma.
Huge numbers of Dalits have converted to Christianity and Islam over the decades
A petition filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties said stern action should be taken against police officers and compensation of 50 million rupees be recovered from the police personnel involved in the death of the woman.
Dalits, or untouchables, are the lowest caste within Hindu society. Huge numbers of Dalits have converted to Christianity and Islam over the decades, though in reality the religions offer limited protection from societal prejudice.
The word Dalit means “trampled upon” in Sanskrit and refers to all groups once considered untouchable and outside the four-tied Hindu caste system.
Government data shows 201 million of India’s 1.2 billion people belong to this socially deprived group. Some 60 percent of India’s 25 million Christians are also of Dalit and tribal origin.
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