Cases of crime against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) increased by 17.52 per cent and 26.71 per cent respectively between 2018 and 2020, according to data released by the Ministry of Home Affairs in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
As per the data, cases of crime against SCs rose from 42,793 in 2018 to 50,291 in 2020, while the number of crime cases against STs increased from 6,528 to 8,272.
As of 2020, charge sheets were filed in 39,075 of the 50,202 cases of crime against Scheduled Castes, while investigation in 19,696 cases was pending. Similarly, charge sheets were filed in 6,477 of the 8,268 cases of crime against STs in 2020, while investigation was pending in 3,341 cases.
Minister of State (Home) Ajay Kumar Mishra introduced the data obtained from the National Crime Records Bureau in a written reply to a question by Telangana MPs Komati Reddy Venkata Reddy (Congress) and Manne Srinivasa Reddy (TRS).
Among states, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest registration of cases of crime against Scheduled Castes between 2018 and 2020. In 2018, the state saw 11,924 cases, it dipped slightly in 2019 to 11,829 and rose to 12,714 in 2020.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh registered the highest number of cases of crime against STs between 2018 and 2020. As per the data, 1,868 cases were lodged in 2018, the number rose to 1,922 in 2019 and it further increased to 2,401 in 2020.