Atrocities On SCs/STs: Take stern action against culprits says Collector Mahesh Kumar

Amalapuram (Konaseema district): Dr B R Ambedkar Konaseema District Collector R Mahesh Kumar has directed officials to take stern action against those involved in attacks on Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST). On Thursday, he presided over the district-level SC/ST vigilance and monitoring committee meeting at the Collectorate in Amalapuram, which focused on the implementation of the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

During the meeting, the Collector emphasised the need for swift resolution of cases registered under the Act. He urged the revenue, police and judicial departments to work in coordination to ensure justice. He also instructed officials to thoroughly investigate incidents of atrocities at the field-level and take strict action against the culprits. Stressing the importance of eliminating social inequalities in the district, he called for transparent and committed governance. Collector Mahesh Kumar pointed out the need to raise public awareness about these laws and announced the establishment of a special SC/ST court for the Konaseema district. He directed tahsildars to issue the necessary documentation promptly for the speedy trial of cases in these courts.

The Collector reviewed the status of cases registered during the last quarter, noting that 95 cases have been filed in the district.

Of these, 52 are in the preliminary investigation stage, 49 are at the charge-sheet stage, and two are in other stages. He stated that compensation totalling ₹81.25 lakh remains to be disbursed to the victims. Amalapuram MLA Aythabattula Anandarao expressed concern over the police tendency to settle complaints through compromises, leading to the recurrence of the same issues and worsening situations.

He demanded that complaints be formally registered as cases and that reasons for rejecting any cases be disclosed. Joint Collector T Nishanthi, Admin SP Prasad, In-charge DRO K Madhavi, RDOs P Srikar and D Akhila also participated in the meeting.