NIRMAL: Pakpatlla Village Development Committee (VDC) members on Friday imposed a penalty of `500 on a Dalit man for offering prayers the Grama Devatha Pochamma Thalli Temple on the outskirts of the village in the district. The man had entered the temple last Sunday.
B Muthyam had visited the temple after recovering from an illness. He waited for the priest, but as there was no sign of him, Muthyam went into the main shrine and offered prayers. Some villagers noticed this and took the matter to the VDC, which met on Friday and imposed the fine. Muthyam pleaded that he had done nothing wrong.
“Can’t I enter the temple, just because I am a Dalit?,” he argued. Pakpatlla Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies elected representative B Srinivas condemned action of the VDC and demanded district administration dissolve it. Mandal police said they did not know of the matter.