As many as 25 Dalit families of Tidigola village in Sindhanur taluk, whose houses were alleged burnt in the presence of police as per court orders on Monday, camped outside the office of Sindhanur Tahsildar on Tuesday, protesting the action.
While the women prepared food in the office premises, the children, babies and aged were exhausted in the sweltering heat.
"We have been living on 11 gunta land bearing survey number 2/1 at Tidigola village for the last 25 years. The original land owner, Yankareddeppa, claims that he had donated the land to government in 1986-87. The owner and his followers along with a police constable with a court order forcibly dragged us out of our homes on Monday and burnt our homes, which were later cleared with an earth mover," the agitating families said.
Addressing at the agitation site, Mr. H N Badiger, state convenor of Jaati Nirmoolana Chalavali, verbally attacked the taluk administration for its "inhuman action" against poor Dalit families.
"The bureaucratic apparatus from top to bottom is indisputably working for the creamy layer of society and crushing the downtrodden and marginalised sections under its iron heels. The Tidigola incident, where the concerned authorities neither served prior-notices to poor Dalits nor made alternative arrangements, clearly showed how democracy functioned at grassroots level," he said.
He demanded for a stringent legal action against all those involved in the case, including Turvihal Police Sub Inspector and Sindhanur Circle Inspector for their alleged support to the "miscreants who destroyed the homes of the Dalits".
He warned that the Dalit families would continue to stay at the Tahshildar's office if they were not provided with permanent shelters.
The agitating families later submitted a memorandum to Tahshildar M.Gangappa with a list of demands which included paying compensation and providing alternative and permanent shelters for the homeless, registering First Information Report based on the complaint lodged by the grieving families, amongst others.
Representatives of various organisations, including Ramesh Patil Berigi of Karnataka Raitha Sangha, Nagaraj Pujar of Revolutionary Youth Federation of India, B.N. Yaradihal of Trade Union Centre of India and Basappa Kadabur of Hamalara Sangha participated in the protest and expressed their solidarity to the agitating Dalit families.
