⚖️ Important Case Laws of Dalit Atrocities in Jharkhand

1. 🔥 Latehar Dalit Lynching Case (2016)

  • Incident: Two Dalit cattle traders – Majloom Ansari and Imtiyaz Khan – were lynched and their bodies hanged from a tree in Latehar district.

  • Cause: They were accused of cow smuggling by cow vigilantes.

  • Legal Action: FIR under IPC Sections and SC/ST Act (for Dalit victim), later transferred to CID; 8 men convicted in 2019.

  • Significance: Highlighted the dangerous link between cow vigilantism, caste, and communal identity.

2. 🧒 Palamu Dalit Student Rape and Murder Case (2022)

  • Incident: A Dalit schoolgirl was allegedly raped and killed near Daltonganj, Palamu district.

  • Legal Action: FIR registered under IPC, POCSO, and SC/ST Atrocities Act; case drew attention of National Commission for Scheduled Castes.

  • Significance: Showed intersection of gender, caste, and poor law enforcement in rural areas.

3. 🚩 Garhwa Dalit Boy Assault Case (2021)

  • Incident: A 16-year-old Dalit boy was brutally beaten for sitting near a temple during a village ceremony.

  • Legal Action: Accused charged under SC/ST Act and IPC.

  • Significance: Echoes of untouchability and social exclusion still prevalent in Jharkhand’s rural caste dynamics.

4. 🏠 Hazaribagh Land Dispute with Dalit Family (2018)

  • Incident: A Dalit family was forcibly evicted, their house torched by dominant caste landlords.

  • Legal Action: FIR under SC/ST Act; Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the state.

  • Significance: Raised issues of land rights, caste-based exploitation, and institutional failure.

5. 🪓 Gumla Dalit Man Lynched for Alleged Witchcraft (2020)

  • Incident: A Dalit man was lynched on the accusation of practicing witchcraft—a common pretext in rural areas to target Dalits and Adivasis.

  • Legal Action: Case under IPC and SC/ST Act; legal aid provided to the family.

  • Significance: Showed intersectionality of superstition, caste violence, and social ignorance.

6. 🧑‍🦱 Ranchi Manual Scavenging Deaths (2019)

  • Incident: Dalit workers died while cleaning a septic tank without safety gear in Ranchi city.

  • Legal Action: Filed under Manual Scavenging Prohibition Act and SC/ST Act.

  • Significance: Reflected structural caste-based occupational discrimination still in practice despite legal bans.

🧾 Common Legal Themes

Theme Description
Caste-based violence Assaults, rapes, killings related to social status or customs
Land & livelihood exploitation Dalits often face land evictions and violence from dominant castes
Cow vigilantism impact Targeting of Dalit cattle traders by vigilante groups
Manual scavenging deaths Occupational casteism persists despite legal prohibition
Superstition-based violence Dalits branded as “witches” or “sorcerers” to justify lynching

📚 Key Laws Invoked:

  • SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

  • Indian Penal Code (IPC) – Sections 302, 376, 354, 295A

  • POCSO Act, 2012 – For minor victims

  • Manual Scavenging (Prohibition) Act, 2013

  • Constitutional Rights – Articles 15, 17, and 21