Parliament Watch: Arrests under UAPA, atrocities against SC/STs and more [Day 12 round up]

Day twelve of the ongoing 2021 Winter Session of Parliament witnessed responses on issues like details of persons arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), online investigation tracking system, and more..Here is an overview of the responses..Questions were raised by 11 Members of Parliament on details of the number of persons arrested under the UAPA in the last three years.Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai responded that only one case was registered under UAPA in 2019 in the State of Orissa, and that the data regarding the period of detention is not maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).The table below shows the number of persons arrested, on bail and the number of persons convicted under the Act in the last three years..As the data shows, 1,236 people were arrested in 2018; 1,712 in 2019; and 963 in 2020. 34 persons each were convicted under the UAPA in 2018 and 2019, while 78 were convicted in 2020. Over the last three years, the most arrests were made in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur..A question was also posed as to whether the Central government plans to amend the legislation given the high rates of acquittals and for preventing harassment of innocent people by misusing the law. The response revealed,“There are adequate Constitutional, institutional and statutory safeguards including inbuilt safeguards in the UAPA itself, to prevent misuse of the law. The UAPA has been amended in the past keeping in view the requirement. Presently no amendments in the UAPA are under consideration. The information regarding custodial deaths of the persons in custody under the UAPA is not maintained by NCRB.”The response also gave an exclusive count of persons under the age of 30 years arrested under the UAPA. The table below shows the same..A question was tabled by YSR Congress MP Lavu Krishna Devarayalu regarding the implementation of a system to track police investigations in sexual assault cases.Minster of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra responded that the Ministry has launched an online analytical tool called the ‘Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offenses’ for states and union territories to monitor and track time-bound investigations in sexual assault cases.The table below indicates the state-wise number of Forensic Science Laboratories and Mobile Forensic Units for aiding investigation in such matters.."Apart from this, 7 Central Forensic Science Laboratories are located at Delhi, Pune, Bhopal, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata,” the response stated..In a question tabled by BSP MP Girish Chandra on atrocities committed against the SC/ST communities, Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State for Social Empowerment, gave a detailed account of the state-wise number of cases registered under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in conjunction with the Indian Penal Code.The table shows that the total number of cases registered in the past few years are as follows:2016 - 47,338, out of which 4,355 led to conviction2017 - 50,094 - out of which 5,555 led to conviction2018 - 44,505 - 3,936 convicted2019 - 49,608 - 4,749 convicted2020 - 53,886 - 3,599 convicted The statement further mentioned, “The atrocity cases in the year 2018 have decreased approximately by 11.15% from the year 2017, but have increased by 11.46% in 2019 and 8.6% in 2020 from the previous year.”.A question was tabled before the Lok Sabha by NCP MP Agatha K Sangma on the measures undertaken to prevent racial attacks on people from the North-East. A response was sought on the implementation of the recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee, set up in February 2014 after the death of 19-year-old Nido Taniam who was killed in Delhi.Nityanand Rai mentioned that the Central government has:Issued advisories to the States/Union Territory (UT) Governments to provide security for people from the North East;Appointed Nodal Officers in States / UTs to address grievances of people from North East;Conducted sensitization of enforcement agencies to take appropriate action in any case of harassment;A three member Monitoring Committee has been set up by Ministry of Home Affairs with two members belonging to North East Region for monitoring of issues and redressal of grievances relating to racial discrimination faced by people from North East residing in different parts of the country.On measures taken for safety of North-East students facing racial discrimination on and off campus in universities across the country, the statement mentioned that the following initiatives were undertaken:University Grants Commission has issued communication to all the Universities regarding inclusion of History and Unique Culture heritage of the North East in curriculum of coursesIntroduction of Special Scholarship Scheme for North East region and issued regulations for grievance redressal, equity in higher education institutionsMinistry of Home Affairs has asked all State/UT Govts to designate nodal officers in various districts for interactions with students/residents from North East states and to address their concerns.The statement also indicates that 24 recommendations of the Bezbaruah Committee have been implemented so far. As regards the other recommendations of the Committee for safety and other concerns, “various stakeholders have been asked to take necessary action and Ministry of Home Affairs monitors this regularly,” the response stated..A question was tabled by BJP MP Vinay Dinu Tendulkar regarding the initiatives taken by the Central government to provide affordable and accessible medical facilities and its plan to set up government hospitals.Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar mentioned that the Government of India has taken several steps to reduce out of pocket expenditure. Some of the initiatives are:Implementation of Free Drugs and Free Diagnostics initiative under National Health Mission to provide essential drugs and diagnostics free of cost in public health facilitiesUnder National Health Mission, states are supported for augmenting the referral network in the country by Advanced Life Support (ALS), Basic Life Support (BLS) and Patient Transport Vehicle (PTV) ambulance system in both rural and urban areas.Support is provided for Telemedicine under NHM to improve healthcare access including in urban areas.As part of Ayushman Bharat, the Government is supporting the States for transformation of Sub Health Centres and Primary Health Centres into 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres across the country by December, 2022 for provision of Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC)The Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) provides health coverage up to Rs 5 Lakh per family per year to around 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families as per Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC)PM-ABHIM has been launched with an outlay of Rs. 64,180 crores till 2025-26. It envisages increased investments in public health and other health reforms to safeguard against future public health emergencies by focusing on health infrastructure.Critical care hospital blocks are being developed in 602 districts under PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM).

Parliament Watch: Arrests under UAPA, atrocities against SC/STs and more [Day 12 round up]

Jelsyna Chacko

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