The Karnataka government on Saturday handed over the probe to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in a move to defuse the political unrest in the Belagavi robbery and assault case.
“Worse than what Draupadi faced”, says HC
The victim, a resident of Vantamuri village, was dragged outside and stripped naked. On December 11, the 42-year-old victim woman was brutally dragged, beaten, and tied to an electricity pole. The attack was carried out in retaliation for the woman’s 24-year-old son Ashok’s eloping with Priyanka, an 18-year-old girl from the village, on his engagement day after disrupting a pre-arranged ritual.
The girl’s family rushed to the young man’s house after hearing that their daughter had run away with the boy. Enraged, they ransacked the premises and beat up the man’s mother. The woman was later tied to a power pole in front of her house and paraded around in partial dismemberment. Local authorities were alerted by an villager.
Police from Kakati police station successfully rescued the victim and arrested eight persons. The accused include Gangavva, Sangeeta and Kempanna. A case has now been filed against the accused after the heinous crime. Police are looking for eight more people allegedly involved in the case.
The victim was immediately admitted to the district hospital. The victim’s husband, Lagamanna, demanded strict punishment for the accused. Home Minister G. Parameshwara directed the Belagavi Police Commissioner to take strict action against the culprits. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took to social media to express his condemnation, promising justice for the victim and her family.
Karnataka High Court, regarding the incident, said that the plight of the victim in the case was “worse than what Draupadi faced”.
Steps and Concerns
Condemning the incident, the state BJP staged a statewide protest. According to state BJP sources, the issue was scheduled to be raised in Parliament on Monday to target Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (India) partners.
BJP national president JP Nadda constituted a five-member fact-finding committee comprising party MPs and the party’s national secretary to probe the incident. The team visited Belagavi.
The five-member fact-finding team of the BJP reached Belagavi on December 16 to collect first-hand information into the matter where the woman was assaulted.
The Congress government had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the victim, and the Belagavi district legal authority decided to pay Rs 50,000.
The Karnataka High Court has slammed the Congress government for the failure of the police department to prevent the incident.
The Karnataka High Court has taken up the case on its own. The bench, headed by Chief Justice P. B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit, had remarked, “What will be the fear among other women? They will feel unsafe in the country. Even in the Mahabharata, this did not happen. Unfortunately, this is the world of Duryodhana and Dushasana.”
Union Minister has put pressure on the Congress government
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman condemned the Congress Government of Karnataka, citing the incident as another example of atrocities against Dalits. This further heated up the Dalit community.
Taking to her social media handle, she said, “There is no ‘Nyay’ (Justice) for SCs and STs. The recent incident in Belagavi, Karnataka, falls into the same category as the repeated atrocities against Dalits in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in recent times. The poor are just a vote bank for Congress.”
Steps taken by CID
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) DIG Sunil Kumar Meena arrived in Belagavi town on December 18 to investigate the ST assault incident. The case was transferred from Kakathi police station to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on December 16.
A team led by Sudhir Kumar Dodi is receiving the case papers on Monday. Noting that the investigation has been handed over to the CID, the High Court said, “We have observed that the state government has handed over the investigation to the CID. We are of the view that time for further investigation is warranted.”
State Special Branch investigators headed by a woman Superintendent of Police (SP) have also started visiting victims and villages. Police have already arrested 11 people in the case. But the main accused have not been arrested yet.
On Sunday, December 17, the Karnataka government ordered an investigation into the case by the state police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
CID Superintendent of Police Pruthivik and DySP Anjumala Nayak reached Belagavi yesterday for an investigation. The CID team is all set to meet the victim and his family for further investigation.
The team will also talk to the victim after getting clearance from the medical superintendent. CID has also been utilized to look into any irregularities in the investigation.
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