Mangalore, January 1: Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Labhu Ram has said that Dalits, who are subjected to atrocities, need not to hesitate to lodge complaint fearing expenses, as Social Welfare Department would bear all the expenses in such cases.
Speaking at the monthly grievance meeting of SC/ST members organized by Dakshina Kannada district police here on Sunday, the SP said members of scheduled caste or scheduled tribe communities, who file a complaint under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989, with jurisdictional police station are entitled to certain financial benefits under rule 11 of the Act framed in 1995.
However, he said, lack of awareness of this provision has meant there have been very few takers for this benefit. “A total of 40 cases were registered in police stations under DK District Police at the end of November 2011 under this Act. However, no complainant seemed to have utilised this provision”, he said.
He said, sometimes victims hesitate to take risk of lodging a complaint with police, especially when the jurisdictional station is situated far away and they have no money to travel.
“Apart from travel allowance of the complainants, they also claim the travel allowances of the witnesses they bring and other necessary expenditures. If the victims were physically challenged, elderly persons or women, they can come along with helpers and claim their expenses too”, he said.
He said, once the FIR was registered, complainant should take a letter from the station or directly from ASP and produce it at Tahsildar's office, where they would get money.
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