Karnataka   

Fear grips residents of Betta Hosapura village

KOLAR: Shattered window panes, broken doors and roofs, mangled electric boards, damaged looms and blood stains on the floor of houses is the sight that meets the eye of a visitor to Betta Hosapura village near Vemagal in Kolar taluk.

These are the remains of the alleged attacks carried out against members of the backward Togataveera Kshatriya community on November 28 and 29. Nine persons who sustained injuries in the attack are undergoing treatment at the District SNR Hospital here.

It is a fortnight since the attack took place. Though on the surface the village appears calm and peaceful, fear grips the residents of the village, particularly Togataveera Kshatriya community, who earn their livelihood from weaving.

When The Hindu visited the village on Monday, the fear and anguish was evident. While there are attempts to explain it away as the outcome of rivalry between old Congress and new Congress factions, a chat with he residents revealed the truth behind the events. The alleged feudal attitude of persons belonging to “caste” Hindus towards the weavers community appears to be the root cause for the violence. The alleged inaction of the police aggravated the problem, say residents of the tiny village under Chowdanahalli grama panchayat limits.

According to elders in the village, Betta Hosapura was founded about 80 years ago with five families residing there initially. Now there are about 120 houses in the village. Of these, 29 belong to Togataveera Kshatriyas, and 30 to Vokkaligas. The rest belong to Scheduled Caste people.

People belonging to the weaving community had improved their economic condition in recent times, a fact allegedly not liked by the influential “caste” Hindus. The weavers acquired land, started small factories and businesses like the setting up of a hollow brick factory, a stone crushing unit and so on. This relative prosperity reportedly irked the “caste” Hindus, who allegedly started targeting the weaving community.

M. Chowdappa, who has installed the crushing unit in his land, said: “We cannot blame all the people of Vokkaliga community.” He named an influential person belonging to the Vokkaliga community and his son as being responsible for creating trouble. Women, particularly young ones, in the village were being harassed, several residents complained.

“Driving away the entrepreneurial weaving community from the village is the ultimate aim of the ‘feudal lords’ of the village. They have adopted violence as the weapon to meet their end,” said N. Chowdappa, an elderly person of the region.

Youths and women of the village criticised the attitude of the police. ’If the police had deployed adequate force on the night of November 28 itself when the group attacked the weavers’ houses, the miscreants would not have got encouraged and attacked again the next morning,” lamented Munirathnamma.

Satish, the main accused, is still at large. The residents are also dissatisfied with the former MLA Krishna Byre Gowda, who represented Vemagal in previous Assembly. Meanwhile, a delegation comprising leaders of some organisations and social activists said that they would bring the issue to the notice of National Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commission. Former Senate member of Bangalore University K.B. Gopalakrishna, JP Vichara Vedike convenor K.B. Dayanand, social activist Bellamburi Nagaraj and founder of several educational institutions Moorandahalli Gopal were among others in the delegation which met members of aggrieved family members.

According to Circle Inspector Satyanarayana Kudur, some people involved in the incidents have been arrested. The police were making serious efforts to nab others including main accused Satish, he added.

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