Special SC/ST court in Barabanki sentenced Mohammad Salman to life imprisonment for raping a Dalit girl, attempting forced religious conversion, and hurling casteist abuses. Notably, Salman got in touch with her posing as a Hindu man “Sumit Kanojia"
The victim also tried to commit suicide due to the mental trauma. During the bail hearing of the convict, the victim herself strongly opposed bail. The prosecution pointed out that the sexual molestation incident destroyed the entire psychology of the victim and pushed her into a deep emotional crisis.
Justice Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi held Sahdev guilty of misusing the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to settle a personal land dispute.
"Going by the dictionary meaning, the word means son of a prostitute. That being so, the learned counsel for the appellant/A3 is right in saying that the same is not a casteist slur," the court noted.
During a division-bench workshop on the SC/ST Act and its implementation held in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Vivek Agarwal raised concerns over the rampant misuse of this Act.