Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Tension in Gulbarga following defiling of Ambedkar statue

Special Correspondent

Dalit organisations stage rasta roko in Jewargi, Gulbarga city and Farhatabad

PROTEST: Members of different Dalit organisations staging a rasta roko in front of the City Central Bus Stand in Gulbarga city on Wednesday protesting against the defiling of an Ambedkar statue in Jewargi town.

GULBARGA: Tension prevailed in Jewargi and some parts of Gulbarga city following the defiling of the B.R. Ambedkar statue in Jewargi town on Wednesday. Agitated Dalits held a rasta roko in Jewargi, Gulbarga city, Farhatabad and several other parts of the district demanding action against the culprits.

People in Jewargi town noticed the that the statue had been defiled and the news spread quickly. The Dalits organised a rasta roko on the Gulbarga-Bangalore State highway in Jewargi town disrupting the movement of the traffic for more than three hours.

They withdrew their agitation only after the visit of the Deputy Commissioner Pankajkumar Pandey to the town. Mr .Pandey held discussions with Dalit leaders including former zilla panchayat member Chandrasekhar Hanal, DSS leaders Mariappa Badiger. He convinced them to withdraw their stir and directed police officials to speed up the investigation and arrest the culprits.

The protestors told the Deputy Commissioners that atrocities against Dalits had increased and the Government had failed to protect their interests. They demanded protection for all statues of Dr. Ambedkar in the district.

In Gulbarga city, members of the Dalit Sena and Dalit Panthers staged a two-hour rasta roko in front of the City Central Bus Stand in the city disrupting the movement of traffic.

They demanded that the district administration provide adequate protection to the statues of Dr Ambedkar in the district and also arrest the culprits responsible for the incident immediately.

Precautionary measures

Although the situation is returning to normal in Jewargi town, there was underlying tension in the city and the police had taken precautionary measures of posting additional armed police personnel in sensitive areas.

The police also pressed into service sniffer dogs to identify the culprits.

According to reports reaching here, an irate mob indulged in stone-pelting on the vehicles on the Gulbarga-Bangalore State highway before enforcing a three hour rasta roko protesting against the defiling of the statue of Ambedkar.

The windowpanes of two NEKRTC buses and a vehicle were damaged. There were no reports of injuries to any passenger.

Dalits have set a deadline of 24 hours to arrest the offenders and have demanded the suspension of the sub-inspector of police holding him responsible for failing to give adequate protection to the statue.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Tension in Gulbarga following defiling of Ambedkar statue
Farmers hopeful of good rabi yield

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu