Relief to Victims of Alleged Communal Killings

Mangaluru: The Karnataka state government led by Congress has announced compensation to the families affected by communal killings in the coastal Karnataka region. The government has decided to grant a compensation amount of Rs. 25 lakh each from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to the families of B Masood, Mohammed Fazil, Abdul Jaleel, and Deepak Rao.

The order, issued by the offices of the Dakshina Kannada District Commissioner and the District Magistrate, was released on Friday. As per the directive, the affected families are requested to be present at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's home office, at 8 am on Monday, June 19.

This step follows the statement made by Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on June 6, wherein he expressed the intention to propose compensation for the bereaved families. According to Parameshwara, prompt action was taken to prepare and submit the proposal in response to the call for compensation for the four families.

B Masood, just 18 years old, lost his life over a minor altercation in Bellare, Dakshina Kannada, merely a week before the unfortunate killing of BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru in the same village. The demise of Mohammed Fazil, aged 23, occurred on July 28, in Surathkal, Dakshina Kannada, when he was brutally hacked to death by a few assailants, only two days after Nettar's murder. These three shocking incidents reverberated throughout the district, leaving an indelible mark on the community.

In another incident, Deepak Rao, 28 years old, lost his life in broad daylight on January 3, 2018, in Katipalla near Mangaluru. Reports suggest that his murder stemmed from a trivial dispute between two communities over the tying of buntings. Furthermore, Abdul Jaleel, aged 43, was killed in Katipalla on December 24, 2022, as assailants attacked him in front of his shop in Surathkal.

The then-BJP government and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai faced severe criticism, primarily due to the perceived disparity in their response. Bommai's decision to meet Nettaru's family without extending the same courtesy to the families of Masood and Fazil raised questions of equitable treatment. Compensation was solely granted to Nettaru's family, with his wife receiving a contractual job in the government, leading to further public outcry. (eom)