10 booked for attacking Dalit couple in Bidar

Bidar Police have registered a case against 10 men for assaulting a Dalit couple at Khudawandpur village in Bhalki taluk of Bidar district on Wednesday when Basava Jayanti was being celebrated.

As per a complaint lodged by Anitha Dattatri Bhalke with Mehakar Police Station, a group of people, whom she referred to as Savarnas, disrupted a public procession being taken out to celebrate B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti in the village at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday and the police present on the scene intervened in a timely manner and pacified both sides.

She added that the group, harbouring the previous night’s anger, came to her, and one of the group members, Akash Ashok Mainale, beat her up with a belt, apart from abusing her with casteist slurs. She also said that the group attacked her husband, Dattatri Satawaji Bhalke, and threatened him with murder.

Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case against 10 people, Datta Shankar Sangame, Kishan Shankar Sangame, Bheem Shivaji Sangame, Ramkishan Sangame, Ashok Chandrappa Mainale, Ganesh Ashok Mainale, Vishnu Duryodhan Sangame, Vikas Ashok Mainale, Sushanth Sunil Patil and Abhishek Ambadas Hupale, under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and various sections of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Meanwhile, Minister of Forest, Ecology and Environment and Bidar in-charge Eshwara Khandre, on Thursday, directed the Deputy Commissioner to visit Khudawandpur village, hold a peace meeting and take stringent action against the perpetrators.

Reacting to the incident later in the day through a media note, Mr. Khandre expressed anguish over such incidents occurring during the birth anniversary of reformers like Basavanna who envisioned an egalitarian society and Dr. Ambedkar who gave a voice to the oppressed through the Constitution and emphasised that such unfortunate events go against the spirit of social harmony and justice.

Condemning the violence in Khudawandpur, the Minister called upon the people of Bidar, which, he said, is known for its peaceful coexistence, to maintain calm and resist attempts at sowing the seeds of division.

He also directed the authorities to take all necessary precautions during public events to prevent communal tension and ensure that no community feels threatened or targeted.

“If such incidents recur, the district administration and the police will be held responsible,” Mr. Khandre warned, adding that no one, regardless of their status, will be spared from legal consequences.