India caste protests: Haryana police seek rape claim leads

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-35667839

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The chief of police in Haryana has appealed for any leads after reports that at least 10 women were raped during the recent caste protests in the northern Indian state.

Director General of Police YP Singhal said the police would take action if they received any information.

At least 30 people died and vehicles, shops and buildings were damaged.

The demonstrators were mostly from the Jat community who were protesting against India's caste quota system.

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They say it puts them at a disadvantage in government jobs and at state-run educational institutes.

The Jats are currently listed as upper caste but want job quotas similar to those granted to lower castes.

'Need information'

"We can't confirm reports of any rapes, but we will take action if we receive any complaints," Mr Singhal told a press conference on Friday.

"We are willing to investigate but we need information," he said, asking those who had any leads to come forward.

A newspaper report on Wednesday said rioters set fire to dozens of cars on a highway connecting Haryana to Delhi during the protests, forcing their occupants to flee. The rioters then stripped and raped 10 women in the nearby fields, it added.

News television channels showed images of clothes strewn along the highway and media reports quoted local people as saying there were reports of large-scale atrocities.

Media reports alleged the police and administration authorities had advised the victims to not register any complaint to "save their honour" - charges denied by senior police and administration officials.

On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the state government to investigate the allegations.

On Thursday, the high court said the victims could directly lodge complaints with the chief judicial magistrate if they did not want to go to the police.

Large-scale violence began in Haryana on 19 February and for the next few days, members of the Jat community went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, shops and building belonging to non-Jats.

Demonstrations were also held in Delhi, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Overland transport links to Haryana were brought to a halt by the protests, despite a curfew and the deployment of the army.

More than 10 million people in the capital, Delhi, had to go without water after the protesters also sabotaged a key canal supplying water to the city.

The protests were called off on Monday after Jat leaders accepted a government offer.

State authorities say the situation is now under control, all roads have been secured and the violence has subsided.

Why are the Jats angry?