Atrocities against Dalits on the rise under BJP rule: Protestors

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru

 Dalit organisations students activists and other progressive organisations on Friday staged a statewide protest against rape-accused Lingayat seer Murugha Shivamurthy Sharanaru of Chitradurga. Hundreds of people gathered at Freedom Park and accused the government of trying to protect the perpetrators.

On Monday, Shivamurthy Murugha Sharanaru, chief pontiff of Jagadguru Murugarajendra Vidyapeetha Mutt was accused of sexual abuse of high school girls. Two girls, aged 16 and 15, had told members of the State Child Welfare Committee that they were sexually assaulted between January 1, 2019, and June 6, 2022.

 The girls were students of a school run by the mutt in Chitradurga and resided in the hostels there. The seer has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

CS Raghu, president, Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, condemned the act and alleged that atrocities against Dalits were rising under the present government.

“This is not the first case where a Dalit girl has been raped and no action has been taken. We hear these cases every day. The government is inclined towards protecting upper caste people. We demand justice for lower caste people and will go on indefinite protest if justice is not served,” he said.

On Friday afternoon, Shivamurthy Murugha, who was sent to judicial custody, was shifted to Jayadeva hospital in Bengaluru for treatment. This decision has further enraged activists.

 Venkatesh Bubberjung, former state public prosecutor, who was also there at the protest site, said that influential people can always escape the police.

 “In this country the judiciary and police are treated as a joke. If you have money or political power nobody can do anything about you. When there are clear evidences of the seer raping the Dalit girls, still no proper action is being taken. This goes on to show how this government actually functions,” he said.

 Students at the protests said that the citizens are disappointed as how no big politician is speaking about this. “The matter should get national attention. The prime minister is go[1]ing to visit Karnataka in a few days, at least he should have given a statement of assurance that justice will be served,” said Sarath, president of All India Student Association Karnataka.

 However, the followers of Murugha Sharanaru have alleged that this is a conspiracy by mutt administrator S K Basvarajan and his wife Sowbhagya to malign the name of the mutt and the seer.

Corporal punishment oppose

 Dalit organisations also raised the issue of the recent corporal punishment towards a Dalit boy in Tumakuru. The registered their protest against the delay in justice for a threeyear-old Dalit boy whose private parts were burnt by a teacher.

 The accused anganwadi assistant teacher, Rashmi, claimed she was upset that the child was frequently wetting his pants. The 28-year-old teacher reportedly used lit matchsticks to burn the child’s private parts.

The incident, which occurred a week ago at an anganwadi centre at Godekere village in Chikkanayakanahalli taluk in Tumakuru district, came to light on Monday when the child’s grandmother was bathing him. She noticed burn wounds on the child’s genitals.

Ningaraj Malladi, convenor, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti, said, “The matter should be registered under SC/ST atrocities act. This is not a normal case of corporal punishment. This happened because that boy was a Dalit.”

 He also alleged that the police are not ready to file a police complaint. “No police case has been registered against the teacher. If the boy was from an upper caste, the police would have taken immediate action,” he added.

 The Woman and Child Welfare Department has issued a notice against the teacher and suspended her from service