In Tukkanatti village near Gokak in Belagavi district, members of a right-wing outfit thrashed a Dalit family after they accused the neighbors of converting them to Christianity.
Five family members including three women were injured in the attack. A woman, who suffered burns, and others were treated at a government hospital and a private hospital in nearby Mudlagi town.
Police have booked seven of the alleged attackers under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The alleged attack took place on December 29, 2021.
The accused include Shivanand Gottur, Ramesh Dandapur, Parasappa Babu, Fakirappa Bagewadi and Krishna Kanitkar of Tukkanati village, Chetan Gadadi of Kankanwadi and Mahantesh Hattaraki of Hattarki.
The attack has been described in detail in a written complaint submitted by Kavita Karganvi.
According to the complaint, the group barged into the house of Kavita and Akshay Kumar Karaganavi around 1 pm.
The accused allegedly described the women of the Karganvi family and their cousins, the businessmen family, as ‘professional sex workers’ and the men as children of ‘professional sex workers’. They beat up the businessman Akshay and his nephew Sudhakar.
The accused assaulted Kavita, Bharti and Mahadevi, abused their caste and accused them of being characterless.
Another accused Shivanand Gautur, accusing Mahadevi Jogi of being a commercial sex worker, tore her saree and inner wear.
Parasappa Gudagol pushes Bharti Vyapari. He took hot sambar from the stove and threw it on it. He also hit her knee with a sambar pot. The victim has suffered injuries. He is undergoing treatment in Mudalgi.
One of the accused, Ramesh Dandour, snatched Sudhakar’s gold chain.
According to the complaint, before leaving, the group threatened to ‘burn to death’ if they tried to convert again.
“They abused our caste as a group of toilet scavengers and slippers, and we were betraying the Hindu religion we were born in,” said a police officer.
The police have registered a case under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 and the Atrocities Act Amendment Ordinance 2014.
Besides, the First Information Report also included charges under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly with common criminal intent), 322 (causing hurt), 326 Huh. (causing grievous hurt by dangerous means), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 392 (robbery), 448 (trespass in the house), 504 (insult and provocation), and 506 (criminal intimidation) Indian Penal Code.
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