Uttar Pradesh: Former MP's Nephew Arrested for Shooting Dalit Farmers

Lucknow: Rinku Tripathi, the nephew of former Member of Parliament Prakash Narayan Tripathi, was arrested by the police on Tuesday after being on the run for shooting at two Dalit farmers over a dispute. The incident occurred in the Dadin purwa area of the Attara police station.

The Mooknayak spoke to Ziauddin Ahmad, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Attara circle, who said that two parties had an argument over the levelling of the ground near the government drainage, which escalated into violence. Following this, the accused fired at Raja Bhaiya (40) and his minor nephew Vipin (17). The accused escaped after the incident. The victims, who received injuries to their legs, are undergoing treatment at the medical college in the district.

An FIR was lodged against the accused at the local Attara police station. The police acted swiftly and launched a manhunt for the accused. They declared a price of Rs 20,000 on his head. He was arrested near the Rajkiya engineering college road and charged with Section 307 (attempted murder) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace) and some provisions of the SC/ST Act. The accused has been sent to a 14-day remand.

Banda is a district in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, and the region is notorious for crimes against Dalits and rampant untouchability in rural areas. Recently, the dismembered body of a Dalit woman was found in a flour mill in Pataura village of the district. The family members alleged that it was a case of rape and murder, while the accused said that the woman was snagged inadvertently in the flour mill.

Crime Against Dalits in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states with crimes against Dalits as the state reported 15,368 crimes against the Scheduled Castes in 2022, accounting for roughly 28% of the crimes committed against the scheduled castes across the country. In total, 57,428 crimes were committed against Dalits in 2022 all over India, higher than 50,744 in 2021 and 50,202 in 2020. At 15,368 cases, the state registered more than 40 cases of atrocities against Dalits daily.

Furthermore, if we analyze the figures for four years from 2019, the crimes against Dalits in the state have seen an upward trajectory with 11,829 (2019), 12,714 (2020), and 13,146 (2021) cases in respective years. Even in 2019, there was only a negligible decline from 11,924 cases in 2018."