A Dalit man in Karnataka’s Hassan district has alleged that he was stopped and assaulted by a Bajrang Dal member while transporting a cow. He also accused him of hurling casteist abuses at him. Manjunath said that he was transporting a cow from his sister’s home to his own residence in Sakleshpura taluk in Hassan on Saturday, August 20, when the Bajrang Dal member suddenly blocked his way and abused and attacked him. A video of the altercation between the two, surrounded by a crowd, where they can be heard shouting has also emerged.
“Deepu, the Bajrang Dal member, blocked my truck and started questioning me whether I was taking the cow to a slaughterhouse,” Manjunath told TNM. “He asked me, ‘Are you taking the cow to a slaughterhouse? Do you have permission?’ I told him that it was none of his business, and asked him who he was to ask me this. He told me, ‘I am your father, show the documents,’ and abused me. After casteist abuses, Deepu attacked me and claimed that I was taking the cow to a slaughterhouse.”
Manjunath then filed a police complaint against Deepu, following which, the police registered a case against the Bajrang Dal member. Meanwhile, Deepu and eight other members of the Bajrang Dal attacked Manjunath’s nephew, Kalesh, who later also filed a complaint against them.
“Two FIRs have been filed against Deepu and eight members of Bajrang Dal who attacked Manjunath and Kalesh,” a police official said. “Deepu, the accused in the case, is absconding,” said Hariram Shankar, Superintendent of Police, Hassan. “We are investigating this case. No one has the power to stop and assault people,” he said.
Condemning the attack on Manjunath, the members of the Dalit Sangarsha Samithi (DSS) staged a protest in Sakleshpura.
Bajrang Dal members have said that they did not assault anybody. “A counter case has been filed by Bajrang Dal on August 21 against leaders of Dalit Sangarsha Samithi (DSS),” the Superintendent of Police said. The police have not made any arrests yet.
The Karnataka government introduced a stringent law against the slaughter of cattle in January 2021. However, as per law, only the police have the right to search and seize property in cases of suspected cattle transport. Though the law safeguards ‘good samaritans’ who report on cattle transportation, police officers investigating the case said that Bajrang Dal members attacked Manjunath and Kalesh without intimating the police.
According to Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chauhan, around 500 people were arrested for offences involving cattle trade in Karnataka in 2021, a significant increase when compared to the 245 arrests made in 2019 and the 354 made in 2020.