The leaders of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, on Thursday, walked out of the meeting convened by the Superintendent of Police of Hassan to discuss cases of atrocities against Dalits, as a protest against officers’ neglect towards recent incidents of untouchability.
As the meeting began at 11 a.m., the participants discussed whether the complaints raised during the last meeting were resolved. Later, Dalit Sangharsha Samiti leader H.K. Sandesh expressed his disappointment over senior officers of the district not visiting Madenur village in Hassan taluk, where the Dalits were denied entry into a temple.
Similarly, the senior officers did not act when a two-wheeler belonging to a Dalit was set ablaze over a property dispute in Channarayapatna. Besides that, residents of a village in Alur taluk have been denied the right to fetch water from a public tank. “The number of atrocities against Dalits has been on the rise. The senior officers have not responded to these issues,” he said.
They all unanimously decided to walk out of the meeting. Later, they staged a dharna in front of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s statue. Republican Party of India State president Sathish, leaders Somashekhar, Vijay Kumar, Ambuga Mallesh, Shivamma, and others took part in the protest. The leaders said that they would intensify their protest against the district administration in the coming days.
