Twenty-six landless Scheduled Caste families of Brahmanigaon police station area of Kandhamal district in Odisha are facing atrocities by Sangh Parivar activists and supporters, alleged Banabasi Surakshya Parishad, an organisation of tribals and Dalits in the district.
A delegation of these families from K. Nuagaon village comprising of Balabhadra Mallik, Kabiraj Mallik, Dushasan Mallik, Jimbura Mallik and convenor of ‘Banabasi Surakshya Parishad’, Narendra Mohanty, met Kandhamal Superintendent of Police K. V. Singh and handed over a memorandum demanding justice and security. They alleged that land they had been using for agriculture had been forcibly taken by the supporters of the Sangh Parivar. These families alleged that despite being Hindus, they were being troubled only because they were of low caste, while the supporters of Sangh Parivar were of higher castes. As per findings of ‘Banabasi Surakshya Parishad’, these 26 families of K. Nuagaon did not have any other possession except their homestead land and earned their living as daily wagers. They used to cultivate on some forest and revenue land near their village. Despite several requests and attempts, these families have not got legal right over the land. Higher caste persons started to eye the land when a road was built near by. On December 29, 2015, Sangh Parivar supporters gathered here and announced that a temple of goddess Patakhanda ould be built on it. They also threatened the Dalit families, said Mr Mohanty.
According to representatives of these Dalit families, they had also approached the district administration. Daringbadi tehsildar has started an enquiry of revenue department. It is alleged that irked by it, Sangh Parivar supporters again threatened these families on January 15 and occupied the land.
Published - January 23, 2016 12:00 am IST
