Assault on Dalit sisters: Dalit leaders demand strict action against attackers

Mangalore, Aug 4: The brutal assault on two Dalit girls by saffron activists for 'indecent exposure' in Belthangady, dominated the monthly SC/ST grievance meet chaired by Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Goyal at his office on Sunday.

Raising the issue of two Dalit sisters who were brutally assaulted and beaten up in public view by alleged Bajrang Dal activists last month in Guruvayankere in Belthangady taluk, several leaders of the Dalit community demanded to know why action was not taken against the attackers for beating up the girls.

Dalit leader Honnappa said that the Dalit sisters Asha and Roshni (names changed) were approached by men belonging to Bajrang Dal while they were waiting at a bus stop in Guruvayankere on July 17, and assaulted in full public view for wearing indecent clothes and exposing themselves. Moreover, they were handed over to a constable from Belthangady police station who took them to the police station and further berated and branded as prostitutes, he said.

“Is there any rule regulating dress code for women?” he asked, demanding that the attackers be arrested and a case of atrocities should be registered against them. As one of the girls is a minor, the attackers could also be booked under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he suggested.

Another leader P Keshava from Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) said that the assault was a clear case of moral policing, wherein the attackers took the law in their own hands. It should not exist, he said.

Meanwhile, president of Dalita Hakkugala Horata Samiti L Shekhar said that the girls were dressed in an “obscene” way in public, and they ought to be dressed more respectably. He suggested that the police department ought to counsel the girls in public interest, claiming that the girls were “not of good character”.

His statements were met with backlashes from several others. While one of the girls is a minor, the other one is said to be married.

In reply to the issue, SP Goyal said that three separate complaints had been received by the police, one by the victims, another from a Dalit organisation in Mangalore demanding action against the attackers, and yet another from a Dalit organisation in Belthangady urging the police not to file a complaint by the victims.

A detailed enquiry will be made and a report will be submitted by the Additional SP in a week, following which subsequent action will be taken against the accused, he said.

Malekudiyas in Home Guard department

Vittal Malekudiya, a member of the Malekudiya tribe, said that the plan to induct 21 members of the tribe living in Naxal-affected areas as home guards, should not be highlighted as employment. It is a self-service rendered by Malekudiyas, and should not be funded from the Rs 5 crore grants announced for Naxal-hit areas. Malekudiyas can also be trained and inducted in other departments as well, he pointed.

Opposing the proposed Tiger Project of the Kudremukh National Park, he said that if implemented, families of Malekudiyas would be forced to the streets, urging that the project should be scrapped.

Clarifying on this issue, Mr Goyal said that the induction of Malekudiyas from naxal-hit areas as home guards was entirely a voluntary service, and there was no compulsion by the department. Funds from the Rs 5 crore grant have been allotted to employment creation, and this can be utilised in that manner, he said.

Additional Superintendent of Police T P Shivakumar was present during the meet.