Accusing Bharatiya Janata Party of communalising the death of the 14-year-old schoolgirl from Tirthahalli in Shivamogga district, Chairperson of Karnataka State Minorities Commission Balkhees Banu said even after the Criminal Investigation Department’s report ruling out murder and rape, attempts are still on to keep the issue alive and exploit it.
Stating that the priority of the commission is to create communal amity among religious communities, Ms. Banu said a communal harmony workshop will be conducted across the State. “The first centre is Dakshina Kannada district, which is communally sensitive,” she said.
Expressing concern over the “repeated attempts by vested interests to vitiate communal harmony in Dakshina Kannada”, Ms. Banu said communal amity was at stake in the coastal district because of the eagerness of some political parties to consolidate and fortify the vote bank.
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“Members of a minority community are feeling insecure in Dakshina Kannada and there is a need to instil confidence in them; a workshop is a move in that direction,” she said.
Attributing inciting speeches made by some “outside leaders” to the Gangolli incident in Udupi, where shops belonging to minority communities were gutted, Ms. Banu said the commission will submit a detailed report on the incident to the government shortly.
“The commission has urged the Dakshina Kannada district administration to withdraw cases filed against innocent people from all communities, and appealed to the government to release Rs. 2.5 crore to rehabilitate those affected in the incident,” she said.
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