DDSS to Participate in ‘Chalo Tumkur – Manavata Samavesha’ on Feb 16
Mangaluru: “The ‘Chalo Tumkur – Manavata Samavesha’ will be held on February 16 at Tumkur against the continuous atrocities on Dalits. More than 200 members of various Dalit organizations from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Karwar will attend the Samavesha,” said social activist and Dalit leader Raghuveer Suterpete in a press meet held at the Arya Samaj Mandir, Balmatta here on February 15.
Addressing the media persons Raghuveer said, “Recently a Dalit youth was assaulted in Tumkur. He was stripped, garlanded with sandals and beaten up by a group of people belonging to other Backward Class for allegedly harassing a girl in Gubbi town of Tumkur district. After assaulting him he was dumped near the crematorium. Because of the pressure from media and Dalit leaders a case was filed against those who had assaulted him. There is a possibility that the arrested will easily come out on bail because of the bailable sections filed against the assaulter. At the same time, a case has been registered against Abhishek under the POCSO act, which is condemnable.”
Raghuveer further said, “The assault on Abhishek is an inhuman act, nowadays atrocities on Dalits have drastically increased. A 15-year-old Dalit boy was killed for consuming Prasadam in the temple in Jamakhandi. At Gudibande a 9th standard boy was assaulted for talking to a girl belonging to the upper class. Later his body was found hanged. To fight against the atrocities on Dalits, Dalit organizations have organized the “Swabhimani Sankalpa Nadige from Bhimasandra to the Town Hall Library premises in Tumkur. We urge all the Dalit organizations to join hands and take part in the Jatha which will be held on February 16 at 10:00 am.”
Social activist and Dalit leader Ashok Konchadi speaking on the occasion said, “In Karnataka, there are more atrocities on Dalits and the government is not taking any action against those committing atrocities on Dalits. What is the law doing? he questioned”. We urge the government to take stern action against those involved in committing atrocities on Dalits. It is necessary to strengthen the law in the state and the victims should be given justice, he said.
When asked about some SC/STs filing false atrocity cases against innocent persons, Ashok Konchadi said, “I feel ashamed and also sad because whoever files false atrocity case, they use the SC/ST caste as a weapon and do business. Whoever files false atrocity case they do not have any social concern, they do it as business and we are fighting against such practices, because of such people the actual Dalit community is suffering. We do not support such practices”.
Senior Dalit leader Nirmal Kumar said, “During the SC/ST meetings we have asked the SP to take strict action against those who file false atrocity cases by misusing their rights, some of them are not real Dalits, they make money using the SC/ST tag as their weapon. When an SC/ST person files an atrocity case he/she gets 20% compensation. We condemn such people who misuse caste and make money. We do not support such persons, he clarified.
When questioned on some people creating a false certificate to claim and take advantage of the facilities availing to the SC/ST, Nirmal said, “The government should not encourage such practices. The concerned authorities should take strict action against those who create false caste certificates, they should also investigate the complaint thoroughly before filing the case. we condemn some Dalit leaders who support such practices. The government should take severe action on those holding fake SC/ST certificates.”
Dalit leaders SP Anand, Ramesh Kotian, Jagadish Pandeshwar and others were also present.