K’taka HM seeks report on boycott of Dalits for rape case against upper caste youth

Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has sought a report from the authorities regarding the horrific case of people boycotting Dalits for filing a rape case against an upper caste youth in Yadgir district.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Saturday, HM Parameshwara stated, “I have asked the authorities to submit a report. It is a village with a population of 500 and majority of the people hail from the Scheduled Caste category. There is a report on the incident of a rape. When the complaint was lodged, the people of the village boycotted them as if lodging the complaint itself is wrong.”

“Schoolchildren are not getting notebooks, pens and Dalits are also stopped from fetching water in the village. I have directed the officers to move there immediately and initiate action,” he stated.

The authorities have also been asked to pacify the people and take complaints from them if required.

“The investigation is at this stage at present and I have asked senior officers to submit further reports,” HM Parameshwara stated.

In a shocking incident that came to light on Friday, a Dalit family was boycotted in a Karnataka village for reporting the rape of a minor Dalit girl in Yadgir district.

The upper caste community was enraged after the family of the victim lodged a police complaint under the provisions of the POCSO Act.

The upper caste youth had allegedly raped the minor girl in a village near Hunasagi taluk and the 15-year-old victim had conceived.

The family came to know about the incident when the girl was in the fifth month of pregnancy.

The family then lodged a police complaint at Narayanapura police station on August 12.

The upper caste community leaders had sent messengers and asked the Dalit family to come to a compromise. However, the Dalit family rejected the offer and insisted that police action be taken against the accused.

Following this, the upper caste leaders ordered shop owners in the village to boycott Dalits. The shopkeepers are now refusing to sell basic stationery items such as pens, notebooks and pencils to children belonging to the Dalit community.

The Dalit families are not being sold daily rations by the shops in the village and they are forced to fetch all essentials from a distant place.

The Dalits in the village are living in fear over the consequences and have sought assistance from the authorities.

Dalit organisations had raised concerns over the incident and demanded action against the culprits.

Yadgir is one of the most backward districts of Karnataka and its social indicators are alarmingly low when compared to other regions.