After the acquittal of all 40 alleged accused by the court, the case regarding the alleged mass killing of five Dalits in Dangawas, Rajasthan—which occurred 11 years ago—is back in the headlines with anger and resentment. On August 12, 2026, some members of the Dalit community staged a protest in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, and demanded justice. The protesters asked: if all 40 accused are innocent, then who exactly brutally murdered the five Dalits on May 14, 2015?
It is worth mentioning that a special SC/ST court in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district on 5th August,2026 acquitted all 40 accused in the 2015 Dangawas massacre case, noting that the case could not be proved beyond doubt by the prosecution’s own evidence.
Was the acquittal of all the alleged accused by the court the result of failure to plead the case by the SC/ST case pleaders or the inefficient and reluctant investigation by the system?
Raising questions over the system, Ashok Gehlot wrote on his X account @ashokgehlot51 on August 6, 2026, and reportedly quoted a murder case of six people, including five Dalits, wherein all 40 accused got scot-cleared.
Gehlot wrote, “The verdict in the Dangawas massacre case of Nagaur, coming after 11 years, is highly concerning. In 2015, six people, including five Dalits, were brutally murdered over a land dispute, and now the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC-ST) special court has acquitted all 40 accused, giving them the benefit of the doubt. The victims’ families have a valid question: if all 40 accused have been acquitted, then who exactly murdered these six people?”
Gehlot adds, “Despite an 11-year-long legal battle, a CBI investigation, and the trial, the failure to deliver justice points to serious flaws in the investigation and prosecution. The fact that such an incident occurred 11 years ago under the BJP government’s rule, and now an adverse verdict has come under their same regime, shows that the BJP is not on the side of justice. Accountability must be fixed for this injustice done to the Dalit community.”
Turning the issue towards a political angle, Gehlot advises, “The Congress has always stood firmly for the dignity and rights of the Dalit community. To ensure justice for the victims’ families, the process of appealing this verdict in a higher court must be vigorously pursued, and the state government should play an active role in it.”
Now questions arise: Why are Dalits being persecuted despite the existence of stringent laws? How do members of the upper strata continue to harbor an anti-Dalit mindset that has persisted for millennia; do they have absolutely no fear of the law? Do they believe they will face no punishment for such acts of oppression against Dalits? If they do feel this way, what is the reason behind it?
Even thirty-seven years after the enactment of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, why are the fingers pointed towards its implementation, such that the promise of justice for Dalits and Adivasis remains deeply unfulfilled?
Why do such questions come to mind?
Who is at fault for not proving the case beyond doubt? What factors led the court to take this view?
There is no telling how long the interminable, complex legal process will take to bring the guilty to justice; as the case drags on from one hearing to the next through various stages, the conviction rate plummets. Let us look at the official statistics regarding convictions.
Giving information, the Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, in a written reply to the Member of Parliament Sanjay Singh in the Rajya Sabha on July 30, 2026, placed before the Rajya Sabha the detailed State/UT-wise statistics on crimes against members of the Scheduled Castes registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, covering the five-year period from 2020 to 2024. The figures are compiled and published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its publication “Crime in India,” the country’s official crime-statistics database, whose reports are available up to the year 2024.
Table – (1) prepared by the author based on government figures placed in the Rajya Sabha–
Data of Cases Registered under SC/ST Act (Prevention of Atrocities): Some figures were roughly quoted by the minister.
Year
Cases Registered
Chargesheeted
Pending under investigation
Ended in conviction
2020
45995
36178
17113
2613
2021
45800
to 46100 (roughly)
37123
16300
to 16400 (roughly)
2848
2022
52866
42000
to 42900 (roughly)
17000
to 17200 (roughly)
4876
2023
53372
45439
14634
4691
2024
48669
40614
14918
5192
Table – (2) prepared by the author based on government figures placed in the Rajya Sabha—
Data on persons convicted in cases of Atrocities against SC/ST: (Some figures were quoted roughly by the minister)
Year
Persons Arrested during the year
Charge sheeted (including arrested in previous years)
Persons Convicted
During the year
% age of Conviction
Pending Trial
at year-end
2020
61925
75238
4855
6.45 %
177379
2021
58700 to 58800 roughly
74000 to 74100 roughly
5141
6.94 %
205800 to
20600 roughly
2022
65000 to 65150 roughly
84074 to 84145 roughly
9070 to
9080
roughly
10.79 %
233500 to
233750 roughly
2023
61747
90664
7858
8.67 %
262554
2024
55286
84215
10839
12.87 %
287694
Why do the convictions remain at a lower rate and take too many years to be resolved?
The ground observations indicate that due to systemic hurdles, SC/ST individuals in India often have to struggle to secure justice in cases of atrocities. These include deep-rooted caste biases in local police and administrative machinery, intense social and economic intimidation by dominant groups, procedural delays, and poor investigation quality. Despite robust laws like the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, achieving justice remains difficult due to several critical factors:
> Police and Bureaucratic Obstacles: The first and foremost perception on the ground is — Refusal to file FIRs: Local police often delay or refuse to register a First Information Report (FIR) under the stringent Atrocities Act due to personal caste biases or pressure from dominant local groups.
> Shoddy investigations: Inefficient and beyond-a-doubt evidence and proof collection, poorly recorded statements, and intentional procedural lapses weaken the case before it ever reaches a courtroom.
> Social and Economic Vulnerability/Fear of retaliation: Victims and witnesses live in proximity to the accused and face severe social boycotts, physical threats, or economic blacklisting if they pursue a case.
> Lack of Resources: Financial instability prevents victims from hiring competent private legal counsel to counter well-resourced perpetrators.
> Systemic Delays — Low conviction rates: Table-2, based on government figures, shows that the conviction percentage of the cases remained on the lower side: — 2020 (6.45 %), 2021 ( 6.94 %), 2022 (10.79 %), 2023 (8.67 %) and in 2024— (12.87 %).
> Lower Conviction Percentage: Reflects that, due to compromised investigations and hostile or intimidated witnesses, court trials frequently end in acquittals, reinforcing a cycle of impunity.
> Backlog of Cases: A shortage of designated special courts and special public prosecutors leads to prolonged legal trials that exhaust the victims. Table -2 confirms that every year, the number of pending trials, instead of decreasing, goes on increasing. It increased to 287694 in 2024 from 177379 in 2020.
It seems that now, the alleged Dangawas murder case of 5 Dalits is going to become a political and caste-based issue, and some elements are twisting the issue in these directions, though basically, it was the result of a land dispute between two families of two different castes living in the same village for decades. The issue may boil up further.
The government will have to review the ground reality and revamp the barricades coming in the way of justice to the lowest strata. Society also needs to change its mindset against the downtrodden.
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JAG MOHAN THAKEN, Senior Journalist, Columnist & Political Analyst
CHANDIGARH – India- MOB +918557033198 thaken.journalist@gmail.com
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