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Six Dalits Killed in Rajasthan's Nagaur Over Land Dispute, Trial of Jat Accused in Progress

Reported by

Ashish Gaur

Legal Review by

Edited by

Updated by

Published on

April 7, 2018

May 17, 2022

Edited on

April 7, 2018

State

Rajasthan

Sector

Land Use

People Affected by Conflict

16

Households Affected by Conflict

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

4

ha

Starting Year

2015

Location of Conflict

Dangawas

Nagaur

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Caste-based Conflict

Land Conflict 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.

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

Type of Common Land

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?

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?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Other, Land Reform Laws

Legislations/Policies Involved

Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955
Section 42 (placing restrictions on transfers of land by persons belonging to SC/STs)
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Sections 146-149: Rioting with a deadly weapon in an unlawful assembly; Sections 302, 307: Murder and attempt to murder; Section 322-326: Voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
Section 3(1)(f): Prohibits wrongful occupation or cultivation of land in the possession of or allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe; Section 3(1)(g): Prohibits wrongful dispossession of land of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or interference with their rights over the land; Section 3(2)(v): Anyone who commits an offence under the IPC that is punishable with imprisonment for 10 years or more against a member of an SC or ST may be punished with imprisonment for life and fine.
  1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  2. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  3. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  4. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  5. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  6. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  7. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

Yes

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

Land Possession Rights

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Land record discrepancies

Forced evictions/dispossession of land

Legal Status:

In Court

Status of Case In Court

Pending

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

District and Sessions Court, Merta

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

Killing

Attempted killing

Physical attack

Sexual violence/sexual harassment

Whether criminal law was used against protestors:

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

May 15, 2015

Location of Violation

Dangawas

Additional Information

Nature of Protest

Advocacy (for inclusion in courts)

Involvement of national and international NGOs

Protests/marches

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

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?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

Image Credit:  

Image Credit:  

Video

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.

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

Type of Common Land

Non-Forest (Grazing Land)

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?

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Other, Land Reform Laws

Legislations/Policies Involved

Rajasthan Tenancy Act, 1955
Section 42 (placing restrictions on transfers of land by persons belonging to SC/STs)
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Sections 146-149: Rioting with a deadly weapon in an unlawful assembly; Sections 302, 307: Murder and attempt to murder; Section 322-326: Voluntarily causing grievous hurt with a dangerous weapon.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
Section 3(1)(f): Prohibits wrongful occupation or cultivation of land in the possession of or allotted to a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe; Section 3(1)(g): Prohibits wrongful dispossession of land of a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe or interference with their rights over the land; Section 3(2)(v): Anyone who commits an offence under the IPC that is punishable with imprisonment for 10 years or more against a member of an SC or ST may be punished with imprisonment for life and fine.
  1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  2. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  3. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  4. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  5. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  6. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

  7. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

Yes

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

Land Possession Rights

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Land record discrepancies

Forced evictions/dispossession of land

Legal Status:

In Court

Status of Case In Court

Pending

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

District and Sessions Court, Merta

Case Number

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

Killing

Attempted killing

Physical attack

Sexual violence/sexual harassment

Whether criminal law was used against protestors:

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

May 15, 2015

Location of Violation

Dangawas

Nature of Protest

Advocacy (for inclusion in courts)

Involvement of national and international NGOs

Protests/marches

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

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Image Credit:  

Image Credit:  

Documented By

Text Link

Reviewed By

Text Link

Updated By

Text Link

Edited By

Text LinkLand Conflict Watch

Other Land Conflicts in Rajasthan

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