All-Assam Tribal Students Union Decries Neglect to SC & ST Act

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KOKRAJHAR: The All-Assam Tribal Students Union (AATSU) on Sunday expressed strong resentment over the systematic neglect towards the application of the SC&ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, 1989, by certain police officers and said that such reluctance on the implementation of an act meant to protect the SC and STs from excessive atrocities is amount to defeating the act.

In a memorandum to the President and Prime Minister of India, the president of the AATSU, Hareswar Brahma, said the non-implementation of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, 1989, became a matter of concern. He said the Addl. Superintendent of Police (Crime), Kokrajhar willfully neglected to add or incorporate

the relevant provisions of the PoA in connection with Dotma PS case No. 10/2023 & Kokraihar PS case No. 280/2023 dated 30-1I-2024. He said the objective of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, 1989 was being defeated despite the repeated circulation and minute

of various national review meetings held at Delhi, and as a result, the members of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes continue to be subject to various offences, insults, false cases, illegally dispossessed tribal land, rape, molestation, and heinous crimes, and only because of the enforcing agencies, who wilfully never add or incorporate the appropriate provisions of PoA and BNSS in the FIR. 

Brahma said it was paramount to sensitize to the enforcement machinery towards crimes against SCs and STs, and it is also high time to direct all the police officials to apply the relevant section of laws as per the statement of the atrocity victim. He said recently a case was registered at Dotma PS vide case no. 0102023. under section 63 376-D 328 IPC and R/w Section 6 POSCO Act, 2022, and Kokrajhar PS Case No. 02802023 under Section 34 1/376(D) (a) 506/34 IPC and R/w section 6 POCSO Act 2012. In the aforesaid case the appropriate atrocity section has been wilfully neglected by the police officer of Kokrajhar district, he said, adding that the victims were minor girls and belonged to the Scheduled Tribe, Bodo Community, and the accused are from the general caste. He demanded that the government of India should ensure the re-strengthening of the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocity) Act, 1989, to protect the SC and ST communities of the country from all forms of atrocities. 

The memorandum was also forwarded to the Governor of Assam, Chief Secretary to the government of Assam, Principal Secretary of BTC, and the DGP, Assam.

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