AHMEDABAD: Gujarat has registered a disquieting spike in cases of atrocities against Dalits with every passing year — 2018 alone accounted for 1 ,545 cases, the highest since 2001. According to the figures on atrocities against Dalits obtained through an RTI reply, the 1,545 cases include 22 murders, 81 cases of grievous hurt, 104 rapes, seven cases of arson, and 1,331 other offences.Destroying the myth that deadly discrimination does not exist in cities, the figures show that in 2018 Ahmedabad registered 140 cases of atrocities — the highest in all of Gujarat — against Dalits. These cases include five murders, eight rapes, and 127 other offences. In fact, Ahmedabad has reported a constant rise in crimes against Dalits: 59 in 2001, 62 in 2007, 68 in 2012, and 96 in 2016. If the average of the figures of the entire state is considered, then crimes against Dalits remained at around 1,000 per year. The offences went below 1,000 between 2003 and 2006, with each year in that period reporting 897, 929, 962, and 991 cases.The information sought from the SC/ST cell of Gujarat Police through an RTI query filed on January 19 also revealed that in 30 villages across the state police protection is given to Dalits after they were attacked by the so-called upper caste people. In the Saurashtra region, 20 villages — the highest — get police protection.Dalit rights activist Kaushik Parmar, who filed the RTI application, said that these figures are the tip of the iceberg. “When a Dalit is subjected to atrocity, it is difficult for him to lodge an FIR with police,” said Parmar. “Besides, Dalits are sometimes killed. One instance is a Dalit rag-picker being beaten to death in Shapar in Rajkot. But the government still brags about Samajik Samrasta (social harmony).” Social justice and empowerment minister Ishwar Parmar was not available for comment.