Rajasthan
,
Dangawas
,
Nagaur
Published :
Apr 2018
|
Updated :
Six Dalits Killed in Rajasthan's Nagaur Over Land Dispute, Trial of Jat Accused in Progress
Reported by
Ashish Gaur
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Edited by
Anupa Kujur
Households affected
16
People affected
2015
Year started
4
ha.
Land area affected
Households affected
16
People Affected
2015
Year started
4
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Land Use
Reason/Cause of conflict
Caste-based Conflict
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
Sector
Land Use
Reason/Cause of conflict
Caste-based Conflict
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Rural
Ended
1
Summary

On May 15, 2015, over 200 members from Jat Community attacked and killed six persons including five Dalits over a land dispute in Dangawas village in Rajasthan's Nagaur district. After the intervention of NGOs, civil society and political parties, the issue came to spotlight that year. The land conflict was over 3.77 hectares of land in Dangawas. According to a report in Frontline, the descendants of a Jat family had claimed that the land was sold by a Dalit resident to a Jat resident in 1964. But, according to Section 42 of the 1955 Rajasthan Tenancy Act, property owned by a member of a Scheduled Caste (SC) community cannot be transferred or sold to a person from any other community, including Scheduled Tribes (ST). According to the Dalit family, they had borrowed Rs 1500 from the Jat family nearly 40 years ago by giving land cultivating rights to them. After 20 years, when their family members returned the money back, the Jat family refused to return land. Later, the matter reached a local Court where it remained pending, mainly due to discrepancies in land records. In May 2015, Ratnakar Meghwal, who was killed in the violence, had constructed a dwelling on the piece of land. According to media reports, members of Jat community from the village attacked the Dalit family with arms, sticks, sharpedged weapons. Dalit Women were molested, men were severely beaten. Members of Jat community filmed the entire incident and circulated the video on social media. Considering the gravity of the matter, Rajasthan government handed over the matter to CID and later the case was referred to CBI for investigation. Later CBI filed a chargesheet against 34 accused and arrested 17 of the accused. In January 2018, the trial of the SC/ST atrocity case against the accused began at a court in Nagaur's Merta.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

No items found.

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand to access owned land

Region Classification

Rural

Type of Land

Private

Non-Forest (Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

0.23

Type of investment:

Year of Estimation

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

No

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

4
Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

Rajasthan Government, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Centre for Dalit Rights, Human Rights Law Network

5
Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Legal Supporting Documents

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Author
Reported by
Ashish Gaur
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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

No items found.

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

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