NHRC to hold open hearing in Varanasi

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will hold a two-day open hearing in Varanasi Nov 26-27 on atrocities against Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in and around the city, an official said Thursday.

A delegation headed by Chairman Justice K.G.Balakrishnan will be presiding over the session where about 123 cases of atrocities against SC/STs, and the problems faced by them in seeking justice from state government agencies will be taken up.

NHRC members Justice D. Murugesan, S.C. Sinha and A.K. Garg, along with other panel officials, will be part of the delegation.

The commission had issued a public notice calling for complaints of atrocities by public servants or of negligence by a public servant in prevention of atrocities from people belonging to SCs residing in the Varanasi division, comprising Chandauli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur and Varanasi districts.

The 123 cases to be taken up by the panel include complaints of atrocities on SCs, bonded labour, and atrocities by police, and inaction on complaints on the part of central and state government officials.

On the second day of its visit to Varanasi, the commission will hold a meeting with local non-government organisations, and this will be followed by a wrap-up meeting with the local administration.

The NHRC has in the past held five open hearings of complaints on atrocities against SCs in Odisha, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.