Hyderabad: Crimes against scheduled castes (SCs) in Telangana increased by 15 in 2022, while crimes against scheduled tribes (STs) increased by 33 from the previous year, as per the data released by the NCRB on Monday.
Telangana’s average of 32.9 per cent of overall crimes against SCs was higher than the national average of 29.9, but it took a sharp uptake on crimes against STs, with the state average of 16.6 almost double the national average of 9.8.
Among the most publicised cases was the murder of B. Nagaraju, an SC youth, who was killed in public view at Saroornagar for marrying a woman from another community. Not just Nagaraju, but 30 more people from SCs were killed across Telangana for various reasons, while 10 people belonging to STs were killed in 2022.
In Nagaraju's case, both accused were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Although overall crimes against SCs and STs remained mostly unchanged from the past, the continued attacks on these communities remain a cause of major concern.
Advocate Pulipaka Praveen Kumar of the Telangana High Court said that attacks continued on SCs and STs unabatedly all over the state, and that many such attacks go unreported due to various reasons.
“Despite so much awareness and the empowerment and the protections claimed, attacks on these groups continue, which is a worrying trend. Strict action should be taken in such cases and the investigation and trial also has to be expedited, to give them an assurance. Real empowerment is only when the cases come down,” he said.
Crimes against SCs
Year: Cases
2022: 1,787
2021: 1,772
2020: 1,959
Crimes against STs
Year: Cases
2022: 545
2021: 512
2020: 573
