Police inactivity over “false cases of rape and assault” filed by a young woman against her mother and uncle came to the fore at the monthly Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe meeting held here on Sunday.
Speaking at the meeting held at the office of superintendent of police, S.P. Anand, a Dalit activist, said more than two months ago, a 22-year-old woman, belonging to an OBC (Other Backward Classes) community, filed cases at the Venoor Police Station against her mother Sunanda and her uncle Shamappa, who had, using force, disallowed her from having an affair with Manoj (45), a daily wage worker who has a wife and children in Kerala.
“The mother says that the woman is not mentally-capable of making decisions on her own. She is very naïve and was charmed by the married man. When this was known, the family forced her to stay away from him, and evicted Manoj from Shamappa’s house where he was a tenant. However, on Manoj’s insistence, the woman filed a complaint of sexual assault against her family,” said Mr. Anand.
He alleged that even though the police knew the complaint was false, they filed a case, forcing the economically-backward family to seek bail. “They can’t afford the bond, and the court fees,” said the activist.
‘No action’
In another case of alleged rape under the Bantwal Rural Police Station limits, Dalit activist P. Keshav said though a sexual assault complaint was filed with the station on April 19, no arrest had been made so far.
“The girl went through a medical check-up, and rape was confirmed. Why haven’t the police arrested the person?” he said.
Dakshina Kannada SP Abhishek Goyal said both cases would be re-examined, and action taken.
The activists also urged the SP to look into the traffic snarls at B.C. Road flyover. “I will call a meeting with National Highway officials and try to make the flyover two-way to ease congestion,” said Mr. Goyal.
