Family to withdraw POCSO case against conductor, appeals for peace in Karnataka, Maharashtra
Bengaluru: As the situation continued to be tense in the border areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra following the attack on the RTC bus conductor in Belagavi for allegedly not responding in Marathi, the family of the minor girl involved in the case on Tuesday announced that they have decided to withdraw the POCSO case.
The mother of the girl has also appealed to the people of Karnataka and Maharashtra states not to blow the incident out of proportion.
The mother in the video stated, “The incident had taken place when my son and daughter went to the hospital after getting a ticket. The conductor had used bad language. We love the Kannada language and speak Marathi at home.”
“We are concerned and saddened that the issue has snowballed into a crisis situation between two states and an issue of tussle over language. We apologise if we have made any mistake. Those who are involved in the assault have been jailed. The matter should end here. It was a scuffle over the ticket. We are withdrawing the case,” the mother stated.
Belagavi Police Commissioner Iada Martin, reacting to the development stated in Belagavi that the Investigating Officer in the case has been changed and the case is handed over to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). “I got the video from the mother of the victim. I will ask the ACP to look into the matter, record the statement in this regard and proceed in the case further,” Iada Martin stated.
Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy stated in Bengaluru, “I had gone to Belagavi on Monday and met the conductor at the hospital. I have also discussed the matter with the officers. No RTC buses from Karnataka are going to Maharashtra and none of the buses are coming into Karnataka from Maharashtra. Private buses are operating. We had 509 schedules and Maharashtra buses had 130 schedules. The public is affected by it.”
“Barring the incident of one of the Maharashtra RTC buses painted black in Chitradurga, no such incident is reported from the state. However, in Maharashtra, Karnataka RTC buses are targeted and painted black. I have spoken to our Chief Secretary to discuss the matter with the authorities in Maharashtra. I have also briefed the matter to CM Siddaramaiah,” Minister Reddy stated.
Meanwhile, Kannada organisations staged a protest in Belagavi city condemning the incident. The police removed the Kannada activists from the road and took them to an undisclosed location in buses.
T.A. Narayana Gowda, the president of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, urged that the Goonda Act must be slapped against those who attacked the conductor. “If the accused are found, we are capable of much more than what they did to the conductor. We don’t want to follow the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti (MES),” he warned.
Praveen Kumar Shetty, the President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Shetty Faction) stated that the POCSO has been lodged against the conductor due to the pressure of politicians.
Meanwhile, the conductor expressed happiness over the decision of the minor girl’s family to withdraw the POCSO case against him and stated that the case was lodged against him to make him withdraw his complaint.
Tension prevailed in the border district of Belagavi last Saturday following the assault on an RTC bus conductor by a group of people for asking them to speak in Kannada.
Kannada organisations staged a protest and blocked the Belagavi-Bagalkot road, demanding that the police take action against those who attacked the bus conductor.