“Around 25 persons barged into the house late on July 10 when we had assembled for dinner with beef on the menu. They started beating us alleging that we have stolen cattle and slaughtered a cow,” said Balaraj, one of the victims.
He was among the five Dalits who were assaulted by a group of Hindutva activists for allegedly stealing and slaughtering a cow, at Shantipura village in Chikkamagaluru district.
While Balaraj (56) suffered a fracture on his left hand, Muthappa (26) suffered a leg injury.
The attackers were not ready to listen to the Dalits even though they said that Mayappa Gowda, a resident of the same village, had given them the cow.
“The Jayapura police reached the place a few minutes after the group came. They continued to beat us even in the presence of the police,” Balaraj alleged.
Jayapura PSI C.N. Chandrashekhar, who denied that the Dalits were attacked in their presence, said: “When we reached the spot, the slaughtering was over. We seized the meat and booked a case. Investigation is still on.”
Balaraj has filed a complaint naming seven persons — Sampath, Annu, Santhosh, Sandeep, Manju, Rajesh, and Sundaresh — all of whom are said to be active in the Bajrang Dal. So far, the police have None has been arrested so far.
K.L. Ashok, Komu Souharda Vedike State convener, who brought the incident to light, said the gruesome attack on the Dalits had failed to drag the attention of the larger public. “This is similar to what had happened in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh,” he said. The vedike has planned a ‘Jaypura Chalo’ on July 28 to condemn the incident.
Under the Karnataka law, being in possession of beef is not an offence.
