Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday told the Legislative Assembly that he will discuss with officials concerned the possibility of providing monetary compensation and a job to the family member of a NEKSTRC employee who ended his life allegedly after failing to get a caste validity certificate after pursuing it for eight years.
Omkar Revanappa Sherikar, 42, driver-cum-conductor, could not furnish the validity certificate which is mandatory for all government employees. Omkar was appointed as driver-cum-conductor in 2013 and was working at the Bhalki bus depot.
Omkar, from the ST Gond community, had struggled to get the certificate after eight years of service in Bidar district.
In a reply to the issue raised by Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah and other Congress members during Zero Hour, Mr. Bommai said earlier, Deputy Commissioners used to issue caste certificates. Now after the January 2021 order, the Deputy Commissioner of Bidar district referred applications of 12 different STs to civil rights enforcement (CRE) cells to check the validity of caste and issue certificates.
Mr. Bommai said he would discuss the issue of providing compensation and job to the family member on humanitarian grounds. Omkar is survived by wife and four daughters.
The Chief Minister also said he would consult with officials concerned on withdrawal of the order issued in 2021 on referring applications to CRE cells for issuing caste caste certificates.
Earlier, Mr. Siddaramaiah, Bandeppa Kashempur, Rajshekar Patil, and Eshwar Khandre had demanded compensation and job to the family member of the deceased and withdrawal of the order.
Congress members alleged that CRE Cell officials have been seeking bribes for the issuance of certificates.. They alleged that there was an allegation that 145 people from the Gond community who have been appointed under ST reservations have not been getting validity certificates.
