MYSURU: Karnataka has seen a sharp rise in atrocities against the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the last five years despite the ST/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other initiatives in place to prevent offences against members of these communities.
According to data from Karnataka State Police, the state has seen 41% increase in cases of crime against SCs and STs (by non-SCs and STs) over the last five years. In 2018, the state reported 1,536 cases and 1,585 in 2019. The increasing trend continued for the next three years, with the state reporting 1,691 cases in 2020 (despite Covid 19), 1,744 in 2021 and 2167 in 2022.
The increase in the number of cases from 1,536 in 2018 to 2,167 in 2022, which is nearly 41%, can be attributed to various factors. One of them is that the conviction rate in such cases is low.
Because of this, perpetrators commit similar crimes, according to a former member of the state-level vigilance and monitoring committee under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The former member pointed out that while most of the offenses are related to the attack, attempt to murder and rioting, there are cases of murder, rape, and molestation of SC/ST women. As far as rape cases are concerned, 130 were reported in 2018. The number of cases increased to 210 in 2019, came down to 153 in 2020, and went up to 188 in 2021 and 222 in 2022. Twenty-eight rape cases have been reported till February 28 this year. Other cases against members of these communities stood at 299 till February end.
