Police support sought for Dalit related issues

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Feb. 2: The National Dalit Commission (NDC) has sought effective support from Nepal Police regarding Dalit-related cases.

The support was sought by a delegation from the NDC led by Chairman Devraj Bishwokarma that met with Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dhiraj Pratap Singh and other senior police officers at the Nepal Police Headquarters on Wednesday.

“The NDC has been formed to effectively implement the rights ensured for Dalit community people in the constitution and prevailing laws of our country. We need proper support from Nepal Police to fulfill our responsibility as well,” said Chairman Bishwokarma.

Citing that there have been grievances by Dalit individuals regarding denial to file a complaint by authorities, Chairman Bishwokarma requested proper support from the law-enforcement agency. Similarly, he also stressed the need of an effective surveillance by authorities regarding hate-speech targeted towards Dalit community on Social Networking Sites. 

“We also request the police to not be biased even when people in reputed positions misuse their influence to dominate and abuse people from Dalit community. We expect zero-tolerance from authorities in this issue,” said Bishwokarma.

Speaking in the interaction programme, DMC’s member Mehale Parki thanked Nepal Police for establishing a Dalit Cell. “Since my childhood days, I have been admiring the works of Nepal Police. We request that the agency investigate cases of Dalit community without any bias,” Parki added.

Responding to the concerns, IGP Singh said that Nepal Police was performing its responsibility strictly as designated by the prevailing laws of the country.

“Nepal Police is always there to coordinate with DMC to solve related issues and concerns. We have found that people living abroad are using hate-speech by targeting communities. We are also looking for effective ways to tackle this problem,” IGP Singh added.

IGP Singh also informed that Nepal Police was following the inclusive system of the government in the selection process of officers in the organisation.

“Nepal Police has a majority of officers from Dalit community,” said IGP Singh.

On the occasion, Mina Devi Sob, a member at the NDC, expressed the need of organising similar interaction between the commission and Nepal Police once every three months. “However, we expect to see more participation from women officers in the upcoming interactions,” Sob stressed. 

“We are positive regarding any form of coordination and interaction with the NDC. We should work together to ensure a society without discrimination on the basis of caste, community and religion,” said IGP Singh.