The Karnataka Police on Sunday filed a case against an upper caste man after a group of villagers allegedly “purified” a tank from which a Dalit woman drank water, IANS reported.
The alleged incident took place on November 19 in the Chamarajanagar district. The accused person, Mahadevappa, stopped a Dalit woman from drinking water from the tank, saying that it was located in a lane where the Lingayat community lives, the police have said, according to The New Indian Express. The woman, Shivamma, had visited the village to take part in a wedding ceremony.
Mahadevappa and other Lingayat villagers then allegedly drained the tank and “purified” it with cow urine.
A Dalit man from the same village, Giriyappa, filed a police complaint in the matter. Mahadevappa has been booked under Section 3(1)(za)(a) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, The Indian Express reported. The provision pertains to preventing a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe from using a common resource.
The incident came to light after a villager uploaded a video on social media of some persons draining water from the tank.
Officials from the social welfare department visited the village on Sunday. They took about 20 Dalit residents of the village to all public taps in the area to drink water. The local tehsildar, IE Basavaraju, also held discussions with the villagers.
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