FIR against 8 for attacking Dalits in Koppal district
HUBBALLI: The Koppal police have filed an FIR against eight persons for allegedly beating up members of a Dalit family in Hitnal village of Koppal district. The accused have gone absconding after the attack and the police have launched a manhunt to nab them.
The police said the accused and victims had an argument last week during the annual village fair at Hitnal. While the villagers claimed that Dalit youth were troubling others at the fair, the victims, in their complaint, said that they were thrashed after they entered a temple.
It is said that the group of Dalit youth who were beaten up had entered the temple the previous evening and this did not go down well with some villagers. The next morning, upper caste members from the village entered houses of Dalits and started beating them up. When more people gathered at the Dalit colony, the upper caste members left after warning them.
“The injured victims were treated in nearby hospitals. We approached the police the same day. For the first two days, many villagers and political leaders tried to stop us from not filing a case. We filed a complaint as it was not the first time that we were ill-treated in the village,” an injured victim said.
The police have filed cases against Fakiravva Gunnal, Shridhar Madiwal, Ganesh Benkal, Gurukiran Iliger, Kashinath Uppaper, Durgesh Gollar, Shivakumar Bhajantri and Appaji Valmiki, all residents of Hitnal.
“It is a minor scuffle that has led to many events over last one week in the village. We tried to mediate... but it did not work. As the victims were beaten up in their own houses, they are angry and do not want to withdraw the complaint. The village heads and authorities must conduct meetings regularly to ensure such atrocities do not happen,” said a villager. Munirabad police have registered the case and are investigating.