Mangalore : P. Keshava, the Dalit Sangarsh Samithi leader gave examples of several unsolved Dalit murders at the monthly SC/ST grievance meeting held in the office of Mangalore Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh on Sunday.
He said that the cases such as the murder of a Dalit woman who was murdered in Kavoor 20 years back, the murder of Shantha in Kankanady 3 years back, the murder of a girl from Bejai who had visited Bagalkot, and the recent murder of cab driver Govardhan. He accused the police of being indifferent to Dalit murder cases. Regarding the murder of Govardhan, he said that the police have not yet unearthed even a single clue in this case although Govardhan was murdered a month back.
In response, Mangalore Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh urged the Dalit community not to lose hope in the police, adding that the Mangalore police are trying their hardest to find the murderers of Govardhan. He said that the police have received a number of petitions regarding Govardhan’s murder and are hunting for clues. Stating that the police are investigating the case without any bias, he said that sometimes it takes the police a lot of time to crack a case.
Girish Kumar complained that a certain Dalit family in Yekkur is not given right of way. Explaining the case further, he said that Mahabala’s house near Yekkur bridge is surrounded on 3 sides by private land, adding that a central school has constructed a compound wall, blocking the only way in which the family could access the outer world.
In reaction, SP Sarvothama Pai of the civil rights enforcement cell advised the family to lodge a complaint with the assistant commissioner.
The Dalits also complained that DC Channappa Gowda had not convened an SC/ST grievance meet for the past one year