BENGALURU: A fact-finding team of Bahutva Karnataka, a citizens’ group, has appealed to the Naragund Police in Gadag district to take up cases of those victimised by mob violence in the taluk and has demanded an end to political patronage of groups taking part in hate speeches. The initiative was undertaken by a group of activists, academics, researchers and journalists.
The fact-finding team was formed following the lynching of 19-year-old Sameer Shahpur and the attempted lynching of his friend Shamseer Khan (20) on January 17 in Naragund, Gadag. The two were returning home when they were attacked by a mob, allegedly with links to the RSS and Bajrang Dal. Police had arrested four people in connection with the murder and assault.
According to a report, the taluk has seen a steady rise in Hindu-Muslim violence over the last two years, especially intensifying in November. The report stated that action taken by the police was minimal in the previous cases. Those involved in the previous cases were also part of the lynching of Sameer Shahpur.
The report said this violence was a consequence of systematic form of atomised and targeted violence against a particular community fuelled by hate speeches “The silence of the governing dispensation in the state gives tacit sanction and emboldens the rowdy members of the Sangh Parivar,” the report concluded.