Member of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes K. Ramulu on Tuesday confirmed that the Dalits of Christianpeta in Garagaparru village of Palakoderu mandal were subjected to social boycott by the upper castes and directed the West Godavari district administration to initiate action against the accused besides taking steps to ensure the prevalence of normalcy in the village and the victims get back their agriculture works.
In the presence of District Collector K. Bhaskar, Superintendent of Police M. Ravi Prakash and other officials, Mr. Ramulu interacted with the victims in the village to get first-hand information about the social boycott that turned sensational.
The victims made it clear that they had not been getting any labour work in the village for the last two months and same was the case with the neighbouring villages too.
They further alleged that the tenancy of agriculture lands were cancelled all of a sudden and the landlords appointed new tenants after the boycott was announced.
Bone of contention
They also brought to the notice of the commission member that their proposal to install the statue of B.R. Ambedkar in the village was the bone of contention between the Dalits and the upper castes in the village and all the members of the Mala caste were subjected to the boycott. After recording the statements of the victims, Mr. Ramulu asked the district administration to take steps for ensuring livelihood to the victims. “They should get back their farms and able work in the village as usual. There is an immediate need to restore normalcy in the village. Legal action should be initiated against the accused,” he said.
