Haripad: Twenty people have been booked by the police over charges of caste discrimination against those belonging to the Dalit communities at a flood relief camp at the Lower Primary School at Anjilimoodu in Pallipad in Alappuzha district.

A case has been filed against 20 identifiable people at the camp under the SC/ST Act and the FIR has been submitted at Haripad first-class magistrate court. Revenue officials had reported that food was prepared at two different places at the camp. The collector has asked the Karthikapally tahsildar to submit a detailed report.

The Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha (KPMS), in a complaint to the district collector, had said that Seheduled Castes members at the camp were humiliated by some and they had refused to consume the food prepared by them. The inquiry is headed by Kayamkulam DySP.

Last year, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes had said atrocities against Dalits were increasing in Kerala and the state government has failed to ensure their safety. A commission member had said it had been receiving lots of complaints of atrocities especially against Dalit women and on diversion of funds meant for the scheduled castes for other purposes. It was reported that Dalits were allegedly subjected to untouchability at Govindapuram village in Palakkad district.

Tens of thousands of people have been living at shelter camps across Kerala as rain battered the state for weeks. The state government had announced an emergency relief of Rs 1,000 per families who live at shelter homes.

Floods in pix