Dalit groups staged a dharna inside the meeting hall of Police Commissioner's office here on Sunday when a meeting convened by the police to hear the grievances of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes people was under progress.
They said the police had not taken action to redress many of their grievances.
An hour after the meeting began, Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Ambedkarvada) organising secretary S.P. Anand and Communist Party of India (Marxist)-affiliated Dalit Rights Committee convener Lingappa Nanthoor demanded to know why Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central) Ravindra Gadadi had been transferred to the office of Police Commissioner. This led to a heated exchange between the officials and Dalit activists.
Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order) M. Muthuraya told both the leaders that the issue was an internal matter of the department and need not be discussed at the grievance meeting.
Several members of Dalit groups went and sat on the floor in the aisle of the hall. During a heated exchange that lasted several minutes, the two leaders said even police officers who were Scheduled Castes were being targeted.
Mr. Nanthoor said Ullal Sub-Inspector Sanjeeva Naik, Ramesh of Bajpe police station, and Gopal Kuthpady had been transferred for some action they had taken, whereas action had not been taken in a recent case where Mangalore East police were found to have arrested the owner and staff of a beauty parlour on a false pretext and had planted evidence.
They demanded to know what action had been taken against two police officers: Mangalore North Inspector Vinay Gaonkar for allegedly insulting and threatening Mr. Anand over a year ago and Mangalore South Sub-Inspector Bharati for allegedly assaulting a Dalit youth a few months ago.
Finally, Mr. Dharmaiah told them: “Come to my chamber with four or five of your leaders, I will tell you what is going on.”
After this, the meeting continued, with several Dalit group members making representations to the officials from the floor. One man said a Dalit youth had been assaulted at Moodushedde village last Monday by a Bajrang Dal activist, resulting in the former sustaining head injuries. The man said the police had not registered a case but settled it through a “raji panchayati (compromise)” by giving the youth Rs. 2,000.
Mr. Dharmaiah directed the Mangalore Rural Sub-Inspector Prakash to visit the house of the youth the same day and register a case.
Finally, the meeting ended with Mr. Dharmaiah promising an answer to the complaint against Ms. Bharati in 15 days and told the Dalit leaders to see him on Monday morning about Mr. Gadadi's suspension.
