Dalit family boycotted in Yadgir village; Report sought, says Parameshwara

BENGALURU, YADGIR: Home Minister G Parameshwara on Saturday said that a report has been sought from the district administration and the police regarding the boycott of a Dalit family and added that action will be taken against the guilty.

Speaking to media persons, he said, “The family had registered a rape case under the POCSO Act for which they have been boycotted. There are about 500 people in the village, mostly Dalits. The children of the family were not allowed to buy school books and they were not even allowed to collect water. Instructions have been given to the officials concerned to take action”.

The accused youth has been booked under the POCSO Act and arrested.

A Dalit family from a village in Hunasagi taluk in Yadgir district filed a POCSO case against a youth from an upper caste at the Narayanapura police station after their minor daughter was found to be five months pregnant and the youth refused marriage. After the youth was arrested, the family has been boycotted by the rest of the village for refusing a compromise.

The girl’s family had lodged a complaint at the Hunasagi police station.

The village leaders have ordered shopkeepers not to entertain the family for any purchases and an audio of students interacting with a shopkeeper went viral on social media. Following this, Deputy SP Javeed Inamdar and others visited the village on Friday night. Child Rights Commission member Shashidhar Kosumbe insisted that a peace meeting should be organised.

The Yadgir SP conducted a peace meetign in the village.

Police Superintendent G Sangeetha, Hunasagi tahsildar Basavalingappa Nayakodi and Social Welfare Department officials later held a peace meeting with all communities and advised them not to practice boycott or untouchability. The villagers agreed to live in harmony, officials said.