Andhra Pradesh Caste Killing: Fact-Finding Report Accuses Police of Inaction

Source: thewire.in

New Delhi: The murder of 23-year-old Y. Hemavathi – killed by her parents for marrying out of her caste – could have been prevented if police had not ignored previous complaints made by her and her husband, a fact-finding team has said.

A three-member team of Human Rights Forum visited the Mandipeta-Kotamuru village in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, where Hemavathi – a Kamma woman – was killed on June 28 for marrying Kesavulu, a Dalit man. She was abducted by her parents – Y. Bhaskar Naidu and Y. Varalakshmi – and some relatives, while the couple were returning to their village from a hospital. She was taken to a field, thrashed and killed. She had given birth to a boy just a week before she was murdered.

The team said that Hemavathi was abducted previously by her parents, because they objected to her marriage to Kesavulu. The police had refused to file an FIR and also ignored complaints of harassment that the couple and Kesavulu’s family made, the report says. Bhaskar Naidu’s threats had forced the couple to leave their native village and relocate frequently, as they feared their lives were under threat.

Sequence of events

According to the report, the couple fell in love in 2012 and got married in 2017. From the beginning, Hemavathi’s parents did not condone their relationship, forcing them to get married secretly. Hemavathi’s parents filed a kidnapping complaint against Kesavulu with the Palamaner police. This is a common pressure tactic. A few years ago, the Centre argued before the Supreme Court that an FIR should not be registered in such cases before seeking the woman’s view. The Centre’s argument said that complaints should not result in the harassment of couples who have married against the wishes of their parents.

In Hemavathi and Kesavulu’s case, the police apparently “settled” the complaint and sent Hemavathi back to her parents’s home. The fact-finding report says that Hemavathi was beaten up by her parents for marrying Kesavulu.

“A few days later, however, Hemavathi escaped from the house after which she and Kesavulu moved out of their village. Fearing for their safety, they stayed for varying periods of time in Bengaluru, Mogili, Chittoor, Tangalla Agrharam and Bangarupalyam,” the report says. Bhaskar Naidu continued to try and track the couple down, asking Kesavulu’s friends about their whereabouts.

Hemavathi, who discontinued her B.Tech after her marriage, resumed her course in 2018. Her sister Nikhila called her to say she would like to hand over academic certificates. Hemavathi went to meet her alone, as the family did not allow Kesavulu to accompany her. She was abducted by her family and locked up in her parents’s house.

Kesavulu tried to file a complaint with the Gangavaram police station, but officers refused to file an FIR. They told him he should obtain permission from another Kamma person. “Apart from demanding money, they also said he must go to the Palamaner police station to file the complaint. No FIR was therefore lodged,” the HRF report says. Hemavathi, again managed to escape from captivity and returned to Keshavulu.

In January this year, Hemavathi’s family used casteist slurs against Kesavulu’s father Govindaiah and also attacked him. Govindaiah was working on a road construction project in the village close to Bhaskar Naidu’s house. When Kesavulu, Hemavathi and Govindaiah tried to file a complaint with the Palamaner police station, they were again ignored. Govindaiah was asked to seek permission from the contractor of the CC road project, who was a relative of Bhaskar Naidu, for the complaint to be filed. No FIR was lodged on this occasion also, the report says.

In addition, the report says that two members, also from the Naidu (Kamma) caste, encouraged Hemavathi’s parents to commit the crime. One person allegedly said he would “manage things”, while another provided the family with details of the couple’s movements when they went to the hospital.

‘Family was nurturing hate’

“HRF believes that Hemavathi’s killing was not a murder committed in a fit of anger or the spur of the moment. Her family was nurturing hate because she had married a Dalit and intended to teach the couple a lesson,” the fact-finding team noted.

It says the police could have prevented the killing if they had acted upon the complaints they received earlier. “The SC/ST (POA) Act empowers the police to initiate preventive action if they perceive any danger from a non-SC/ST person to a SC/ST person. In this case, the police of the Gangavaram and Palamaner stations, willfully neglected their duties and are therefore culpable,” the report said. It wanted the personnel who neglected their duties to be included in the FIR.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested five members of Hemavathi’s family – her parents and three siblings. All are accused in the killing.