Dalit man says thrashed, forced to eat cow dung; case filed against five

Bengaluru

A man from the Dalit community was allegedly forced to eat cow dung by members of an upper caste group after a fight broke out between them in Menasagi village in Gadag district, about 417 kms from Bengaluru, police said.

“The incident is reported to have happened in front of the Menasagi bus stand. The 26-year-old man (name withheld) was standing there when a few people came there and started abusing his caste which led to a fight. The man complained that he was fed cow dung,” according to an official from Ron police station in the district.

The official said that the 26-year-old man filed a case under SC/ST atrocities (prevention) Act against five people from the dominant Lingayat community. The accused have filed a counter complaint against the Dalit person, the official said.“They have filed a counter complaint under sections 323, 324, 504 and 506 of IPC,” the official said

The complaint was filed on June 18 after the incident took place a day earlier, the official said. But the incident was reported in local media on Friday.

The Dalit man and his alleged abusers are from the same village. The official said the complaint mentioned force-feeding cow dung but he suspected if it had happened.

The incident comes to light at a time when there have been rising instances of caste-based discrimination reported from across the state.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Karnataka Police in September 2021 arrested a police sub-inspector for allegedly forcing a Dalit man to drink urine, while the latter was in custody.

Arjun Horakeri, a sub-inspector of police posted with Gonibeedu police station, was produced before a court in Chikkamagaluru, and an additional district and sessions judge remanded him to 14 days’ judicial custody.

Earlier, the police officer’s plea for anticipatory bail was rejected by the Karnataka high court on June 2.

The incident took place on May 10 2022 at Gonibeedu police station in Mudigere taluk of the district. An inquiry was ordered after the man lodged a complaint with the Chikkamagaluru superintendent of police (SP).

In his complaint, the victim alleged that Gonibeedu police took him into custody based on an oral complaint by a group of villagers accusing him of creating discord between a couple in the village.

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