A Dalit family from Adaguru village in Belur taluk staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Hassan on Monday alleging that the police had refused to register their complaint.
They alleged that a member of their family was tortured by the ‘upper caste’ people in the village recently.
Ravichandra (28) said that on October 23, Dase Gowda, a farmer, hired him to pluck coconuts in his farm. While he was carrying the bag of coconuts to Gowda’s house, the family members allegedly accused him of stealing them. They then assaulted and paraded him half-naked in the village, he alleged.
“A few months ago, Gowda’s family quarrelled with us and we were not in talking terms. However, on October 23, Gowda invited me to work in his farm. Only later did I learn that he had planned to attack me. I submitted a complaint to the Halebid police on Saturday. But it has not been registered yet,” he said.
When The Hindu contacted Halebid sub-inspector Subbaiah, he said, “Yes, he submitted a complaint, but told me not to register it as he wanted to settle the dispute amicably.”
The officer said the complainant was not sure if the complaint should be registered. The other group has also filed a complaint against Ravichandra, the officer said.
