Indian court orders probe into death of Dalit Catholic woman in police custody

A court in India’s Telangana state has ordered a judicial inquiry into the case of a Catholic Dalit woman who reportedly died in police custody.

The Telangana High Court ordered the investigation based on a complaint filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties.

Reports said a police inspector and two officers who were allegedly involved in the case have been suspended.

The Dalit woman, known as Mariyamma, died after suffering from beating while in detention at a police station in Yadadri-Bhongir district in Telangana state.

The woman was arrested with her son after they were accused of theft in the village of Komatlagudem.

Bishop of Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur, who heads the Office for Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said the incident was “a serious matter.”

“If there is an accusation of theft, the police must carry out a proper investigation, and the court will decide guilt or innocence, but life has to be protected,” said the prelate.

“Police are supposed to take care of law and order,” he said in an AsiaNews report.

Bishop Nayak said “there should be a thorough investigation into Mariyamma’s death and compensation should be given.”

In many predominantly Hindu areas in India, Dalit Christians suffer from discrimination and are often the target of attacks.

Father Devasagayaraj Zackarias, former national secretary of the bishops’ commission for disadvantaged castes, earlier said “deaths in detention are becoming frequent.”

The priest said the Dalits have become the “first victims.”

Mariyamma, a domestic worker at a house in the village of Addagudur, was allegedly beaten up by six “policemen in plain clothes” inside the police station.

The woman was earlier picked up from her home in the middle of the night and was beaten up by policemen in plainclothes, said Mariyamma’s daughter Swapna.

Father Zackarias said the Dalit woman’s death was “a horrible and disgusting fact” in many places in the country.

“It’s nothing more than a police murder,” the priest said in an earlier interview with AsiaNews.

“Vulnerable people face discrimination from society and even those who, like law enforcement, should be neutral are on the side of the oppressors,” said Father Zackarias.

Police officers involved in Mariyamma’s case claimed that she was ill while in custody and was taken to the hospital where she died the next day.

The court instructed the magistrate of the town of Alair to investigate and authorized, if necessary, a second post-mortem on the woman’s remains.

The court also requested CCTV footage from the police station, but the lawyer representing the Telangana government said that the station where the incident took place was not equipped with such a device.

The term Dalit refers to the “untouchables” under India’s ancient caste system. They are considered unclean because they do menial work like manual scavenging and are traditionally ostracized.

The Indian Constitution had officially abolished caste distinctions in 1949 but the enduring legacy of caste discrimination continues to this day. – LiCAS.news with a report from AsiaNews