BELAGAVI: Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara sought the IGP and SP of Belagavi to submit a report immediately, clarifying as to why a POCSO case was filed against the NWKRTC bus conductor, Mahadev Hukkeri, who was assaulted. Parameshwara said he also sought a report on the assault.
Parameshwara said his department granted permission to Kannada organisations to protest on Tuesday, but requested that these protests should be peaceful. “The department has warned that legal action will be taken against these organisations if they resort to violence,’’ he said.
He said bus services from Karnataka to Maharashtra and back have been stopped because of the volatile situation on the border. As soon as the situation returns to normal, bus services will be resumed, he said.
Act against attackers: KRV
Kannada organisations stepped up pressure on the state government to act against a group of Marathi-speaking people from Balekundri district who assaulted a NWKRTC bus conductor for asking a passenger to speak in Kannada when his bus was halted in Balekundri, near Belagavi, a few days ago.
Meanwhile, under pressure from Kannada organisations, the police department transferred Marihal Station Police Inspector Gururaj Kalyanshetti for filing a POCSO case against the conductor, Mahadev Hukkeri, a day after the assault.
Sources said the police may withdraw the POCSO case, reportedly on the request of the family of the complainant -- a minor girl who was travelling in the bus.
Under the leadership of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president Narayangowda, a large number of Kannada activists took out a rally in Belagavi, demanding stern action against miscreants who assaulted the conductor and questioned deputy commissioner’s alleged soft corner towards Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) in Belagavi.
Narayanagowda told DC Mohammad Roshan that the district administration should deny the demand of Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi for official documents in Marathi. He said heeding to such a request would have an adverse impact on the boundary dispute between the two states which is pending before the Supreme Court.
He said Belagavi is the integral part of Karnataka and can never be separated. MES had already lost its existence in Karnataka and the people had rejected it, he added.
MINISTER WARNS MES MEMBERS ‘HARASSING KANNADIGAS’ MAY BE BOOKED
Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi said if the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) continues to harass Kannadigas in the name of language, the state government will take strict action against them. “If they continue their activities, we might have to register a case against them under the Goonda Act and send them to jail,” he said.
Tangadagi said if MES miscreants create a ruckus, it will not be tolerated. “If people stay here, earn their livelihood, but speak against the state language, we shall not sit quiet,” he warned, adding that they are going to discuss it with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara, based on which action will be taken. He further said that Kannadigas love and respect other languages, and also people who speak other languages.