Tumakuru’s shame: Mob tortures Dalit, tribal men to death

By Rithu Dravid | NT

Bengaluru: A group of people tortured a 30-yearold Dalit man and a 32-year-old tribal man to death in Karnataka’s Tumakuru district, alleging that they had stolen water pumps and accessories from the farmers’ properties.

The victims have been identified as Girish Mudalagiriappa (30) and his friend Girish (32).

Mudalagiriappa’s body was found floating on a pond, while Girish’s body was found on a nearby road, in Peddanahalli Village in Gubbi Taluk.

Mudalagiriappa belonged to the dalit community of Madiga ((Scheduled Caste). Girish hailed from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community of Naika.

The Gubbi Police have registered a case against the main accused Nandish and a group of others for murder (Indian Penal Code sections 302 and 201) and under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 2015.

Dalit organisations alleged that upper-caste Hindu goons were behind the twin murders. “These cold blooded murders by the upper-caste Hindu mob should be investigated thoroughly,” said Dalitha Sangarsha Samithi’s (DSS) Tumakuru district president Cheluru Shivasanjappa.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad told News Trail that 12 persons have been taken into custody so far. He, however, said it was too early to find caste conflict in the murders. “We are awaiting the post-mortem report. Further action will be based on the evidence,” he said.

Peddanahalli is part of Turuvekare assembly constituency, which is represented by Bharatiya Janata Party’s AS Jayaram. He, however, refused to comment on the murders on Saturday. “I will comment tomorrow,” he told News Trail.

The bodies were handed over to the relatives after post-mortem at Gubbi. The burials were held in the evening.

Cold-blooded murders
Mudalagiriappa hailed from Peddanahalli village and Girish was from neighbouring Machaldore village.

On April 21, Girish visited Mudalagiriappa and they had food together. When they were sleeping, the first accused Nandish woke them up and took them to the field. A group of people started attacking them, alleging that they had stolen water pumps from the area.

What ensued was a gruesome torture. The mob first burnt their legs and curtailed their mobility. Then, they beat them up with sticks and bludgeoned the duo to death.

“Who gave these people the power to kill my son?” asked Mudalagiriappa’s mother. “He was not a thief. Even if he had stolen something, the people should have handed him over to the police” she said.

Recounting the incident, she said, “Nandish took my son out around 10.30 pm on April 21. I slept after that. I got a call the next morning informing me that my son’s body was found on the pond,” she said, trying to control her tears. “Those who are responsible should be punished,” she said.

Bloody past
Many cases of atrocities against Dalits were reported from Tunakuru district in the past.

In 2021, a Dalit family was stopped from burying an infant at Koratagare in the district.

In 2020, a 55-year-old Dalit gram sahayak was found dead. The police FIR stated that he died of a heart attack. When Dalit organisations protested, alleging that upper-caste Hindus had killed him because he had prevented their land encroachment, the police had re-opened the case file.

In 2018, a Dalit man in the district was fined Rs 25,000 for entering a temple that barred dalit’s entry