KOLAR: A former gram panchayat (GP) member, among others, has been booked for attempting to penalise a dalit family. Reason: A boy from the family allegedly touched the paraphernalia of village goddess Bhootamma's idol in Ullerahalli of Malur taluk in Kolar district.
Masthi police have invoked provisions of Protection of Civil Rights Act against former GP member Narayanaswamy, Venkateshappa, husband of the GP vice-president, and a few others.
Ullerahalli's Scheduled Caste people would avoid entering Bhootamma temple though there was no ban in place, police sources said.
Last week, the village deity was taken out in a procession when a class 10 student belonging to an SC community touched the pole attached to the idol and also the accompanying idol of Sidiranna, a prominent south Indian village deity. Venkateshappa noticed the boy's alleged transgression and summoned him.
The next morning, the boy's mother was called by the village elders. They told her as the village deity's idol has been 'defiled', she needs to pay Rs 60,000 for getting the idol purified and repainted. The woman pleaded she isn't in a position to pay as she is dependent on daily-wage earnings. However, the village elders insisted she pay the sum.
Alerted about the developments, KM Sandesh, president of state unit of Ambedkar Seva Samithi, rushed to the village and urged police to take suitable action against those pressuring the dalit family to pay the fine.
Vasanth, Masthi circle police inspector, booked a case against Narayanaswamy, Venkateshappa and a few others under provisions of the Act.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.