Karnataka police have filed an FIR against a man for cleaning water tank with cow urine after a Dalit woman drank water from it, police told IANS on Monday, November 21. The incident took place in Chamarajanagar taluk following which Mahadevappa, a resident of Heggothara village, was booked.
On November 19, the Dalit woman had come to the village to take part in a marriage ceremony. She drank water from the water tank of the village. A resident of the village alerted other people, and they all berated the woman for ‘contaminating’ the water in the tank. The upper caste villagers 'cleansed' the tank after the woman left the village by opening the tank's taps, releasing all the water, and washing it with cow urine.
Dalits of the village complained about this matter to Tehsildar Basavaraju. The authorities immediately rushed to the spot and allowed all Dalits to drink water from the same water tank and warned villagers not to practice untouchability and discrimination. The police action followed a complaint lodged by Giriyappa, a Dalit man from the same village.
The authorities had also held peace meetings with leaders of all communities. District in-charge minister V Somanna had sought a report regarding the incident over the issue.