Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday told the Parliament that 1,38,825 cases related to crimes against Dalits were filed across the country between 2018 and 2020.

The Union minister gave the information in response to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Haji Fazlur Rehman’s question on the number of atrocities reported against Dalits.

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Addressing the Parliament, Athawale said that 42,793 cases of atrocities were reported in 2019. He further went on to say that the number rose to 45,961 in 2019 and 50,291 in 2020.

Athawale reported that Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of such cases in 2020 (12,714). A maximum of 36,467 cases in three years were also registered in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar (20,973 cases), Rajasthan (18,418), and Madhya Pradesh (16,952).

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The least number of crimes against Dalits were reported from West Bengal (373) in three years, followed by Punjab (499), Chhattisgarh (921), and Jharkhand (1,854).

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Athawale said the maximum cases of atrocities among southern states were reported from Andhra Pradesh (5,857) followed by Telangana (5,156), Karnataka (4,277), Tamil Nadu (3,831), and Kerala (2,591) over three years.

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The National Crime Records Bureau report in 2021 showed the crimes against Dalits increased by 9.3% to 8,272 cases.