Open Joint Statement to the High Commissioner of India in London for the attention of the Prime Minister of India – 2 October 2020 

DALIT ORGANISATIONS AND SUPPORTERS IN THE UK DEMAND JUSTICE  FOR MISS MANISHA VALMIKI 

1. We the undersigned organisations and our supporters demand immediate justice for Miss Manisha Valmiki who died in hospital on 29 September 2020 from extreme injuries sustained from a brutal gang-rape on 14 September in Hathras, Utter Pradesh (UP), India.  
2. Amongst our demands below, we also demand the resignation of the Chief  Minister of UP and that the police officers involved be charged under the SC/ST  Atrocities Act. Enough is enough!
3. Miss Manisha Valmiki’s is yet another sickening gang rape and murder of a  Dalit woman that has caused global outrage. This case raises many serious questions about the apathy of the Indian government, police and the hospital authorities. Despite repeated pleas from the family, the local police failed to register a case of gang rape leaving the accused to roam around free for five days. 
4. If Miss Manisha’s death wasn’t enough, the local police officers and officials violated her dead body and cremated it in the middle of the night without allowing members of her family to be present or to carry out the last rites. This is cruelty beyond measure. Furthermore, it is reported the police are stopping politicians meeting the family to support and sympathise with them. It is also reported the family have been threatened and their phones have been confiscated. We will never forgive  or forget this – how India is failing its daughters  
5. Miss Manisha’s murder has once again shone a light on India’s horrific Caste system, a system that ranks human value based on the presumed supremacy of the so-called high Castes. India’s Government despite its slogan ‘Beti bachao, beti padhao’ has failed Dalit girls and women. Dalit lives are considered worthless and have been for millennia. Essentially, the Indian Government has failed Indians. 
6. The Guardian rightly reported on 1 October “India is the most dangerous country in the world to be a woman and it is women from the lower castes who bear the brunt of the sexual violence”. The 2019 data Crime in India states 10 Dalit women were raped in India every day. One-third of these cases were reported from the lawless states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Reported is the operative word. A  culture of patriarchy and maintaining family honour means there are many more that are not formally reported to the police.  
7. In other cases, there is evidence police fail to even register the crimes. This is unacceptable. These casual rapes and gang rapes of Dalit women and girls, where so-called high Caste rapists go free with impunity point to a failed democracy and sick society. 
8. From 2018, the rate of crime against all women in India has risen by 7.3%, with the country recording an average of 87 rape cases every day in 2019. India reported 405,861 cases of crimes against women in 2019 and Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 59,853 such incidents, according to the annual National Crime Record  Bureau’s “Crime in India” 2019 report. 
9. Miss Manisha Valmiki has been subjected to a horrendous, serious and brutal crime.

We demand the following:

1. Transfer this case outside of UP for a fair and impartial investigation.
2. 2. Refer this case to the Criminal Branch of Investigation (CBI). We have no confidence in the local police, and fear they will try to compromise the available evidence.  
3. Conduct an open and transparent investigation under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015 and prosecute those in Government and police officials who are found to have neglected their duties and tried to cover up.  
4. Take against the police officers for their delay in recording Miss Manisha’s statement.
5. The Special Courts and Exclusive Special Courts are mandated in the SC-ST Act, 2015 for speedy trials.
6. Action against officials for not referring the Miss Manisha Valmiki to the AIIMS, Delhi immediately and sending to Safdarjung Hospital instead.
7. The officials are responsible for cremating Miss Manisha’s body without the family’s participation in the last rites of the victim be charged under the SC/ST Atrocities Act.  

This Statement is supported by: 

All Bhagwan Valmik Sabhas and associated Temples in the UK Ambedkar Mission Society, Bedford  

Anti Caste Discrimination Alliance 

Anti Land Grab and Forced Displacement of People 

Asian Rationalists Society, Britain 

British Ravidassia Heritage Research Group 

Buddha Dhamma Association, Southall  

Dr Ambedkar Mission Society, Glasgow  

Dr Ambedkar Buddhist Organisation, Birmingham 

Dr Ambedkar Memorial Trust, London 

Federation of Ambedkarite and Buddhist Organisations UK 

Indian Scheduled Caste Welfare Association, UK 

Indian Workers’ Association, Great Britain 

International Asian Christian Front 

Kanshi Radio Ltd 

Kanshi TV 

Punjab Buddhist Society, UK 

Samaj Weekly 

Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha UK(SGRS-UK), and all associated Temples in the UK Shri Guru Ravidass Dharmik Sabha Wolverhampton 

Shiri Guru Ravidass Cultural Association Darlaston 

For more information please contact: Santosh Dass 00447902806342 or Ravi Kumar at infoacda@gmail.com or Arun Kumar at fabo@ambedkar.org.uk