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Cleaning of office used by Dalit officer sparks row
TRIVANDRUM - The Kerala Human Rights Commission has ordered a probe into the reported incident of 'cleansing' the office and the vehicles used by a senior officer belonging to a low caste community by spraying cowdung after his retirement from the service.
- PUBLISHED: Sun 10 Apr 2011, 12:19 AM UPDATED: Tue 20 Aug 2024, 11:53 AM
The probe was ordered on a complaint lodged by retired Inspector General (IG) of Registration A.K Ramakrishnan, who said some employees in the office had sprinkled 'cowdung water' over the tables, chairs and even inside the office car used by him while in service as he belonged to a Scheduled Caste Community.
He termed the action as an insult to him and all the backward communities. Human Rights panel chairman Justice N Dhinakaran has asked Taxes Secretary V P Joy to probe the incident and submit a report by May 7.
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Washing the floor of the houses with cow-dung is an important Indian custom, which is mainly done to remove pollutants. As per the custom, a house is usually washed with cowdung and watered thoroughly following the death of a person.
The house is considered fit for re-occupation by the relatives of the deceased only after such cleansing. The complaint lodged by Ramakrishnan said that the officials in the office had cleansed his office after he vacated it on March 31 as per the traditional practice.
He said that the inhuman act was done in the presence of Joint Inspector General K R Vivekanandan, who did not take any step to prevent the act. However, Vivekanandan has denied the charge, saying that the incident of washing the office with cowdung was not aimed at Ramakrishnan.
In his report submitted to the Taxes Secretary, Vivekanandan said that officials had used cowdung some other time against a lady officer, who did not belong to any backward community. He alleged that Ramakrishnan had blamed him for the incident in order to stall his chances for promotion.
Ramakrishnan said a section of officials, against whom he had taken stern action over corruption were behind the act. He said these officials had celebrated his retirement on March 31 by bursting crackers and distributing sweets.
“The next day they washed my office room and things I used with cowdung. In order to thwart allegations that this was done because I was a Dalit, cowdung-water was sprayed in the entire office the next day”, Ramakrishnan said.
Ramakrishnan said he would pursue the case seriously as he considered it as an insult to the backward classes. “This is a personal insult and a humiliation of the entire socially depressed classes”, he added. - news@khaleejtimes.com
Ramakrishnan said he had faced similar humiliations all through his five-year term as Registration IG. “I have suffered them without getting worked up. But I cannot tolerate it after my retirement”, he added.- news@khaleejtimes