The police foiled an attempt by the members of different organisations including the Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane, Pragnya Kanoonu Salaha Samiti, Samudaya and other social organisations from taking out a mock funeral procession depicting the Adda Pallakki, the practice of carrying the swamiji of a math in a palanquin, in Gulbarga City.
High drama marked the arrest of nearly 20 activists including women as the protestors including the state Janawadi Mahila Sanghatane vice president K. Neela and ZP member Shobha Bani, accused the police of ‘manhandling’ of the women. They argued that the women constables must only arrest the women protestors. Initially the police tried to prevent the mock funeral procession on the premises of the Kannada Bhavan complex and tried to arrest the activists, but the activists resisted the move and insisted that they could be arrested only after coming out of the campus. As the demonstrators filed out of the campus carrying an effigy and a portrait, a tussle ensued between the police personnel and the activists.
As the police dragged the women activists including Ms Neela and Ms Bani, there were arguments and women squatted before the police van and insisted that they be arrested only by women police constables. There was not a single woman constable on the campus.
After the arrest, the activists raised slogans against the Adda Pallakki procession of the Balehonnur Rambhapuri Jagadguru Veerasomeshwara Rajdeshikendra Shivacharya at Jewargi town being taken out on Monday. Meanwhile, other women activist led by Professor Meenakshi Bali, Chairperson of the Pragnya Kanoonu Salaha Samiti and others tried to take out a march from the Kannada Bhavan complex to the spot where nearly 20 swamijis were sitting in hunger strike seeking a ban on Adda Pallakki.
Even they were stopped by the police and bundled into a police van. The Swamijis including Chief of the Sulpul Math Sri Mahanta Shivacharya and Gnanaprakash swamiji of the Urilinga Peddi Math Mysore and others condemned the police action as undemocratic and manhandling of the women by the police was inhuman. The Swamijis said that an attempt was made to forcibly shift them to hospital on Sunday night and the police gave up the move only after they threatened that they would consume poison and commit suicide if they were denied their democratic right of protest against what they termed as an “indecent act” by a “so-called” Jagadguru.
Large posse of police personnel have been posted at the venue where the swamiji were on hunger strike.
