Scheduled Caste women activists assaulted, FIR names BJP spokesperson

Bengaluru: BJP spokesperson Lohitaksha and several others have been booked for allegedly assaulting women, including Karnataka Scheduled Caste & Scheduled Tribes Nomadic Development Corporation president Pallavi G, during a July 5 community meeting in Bengaluru, held in the presence of former minister H Anjaneya.The FIR was filed at High Grounds police station, Seshadripuram, based on a complaint by Prabhavathi, 57, who was with Pallavi. The complainant has accused Lohitaksha and others of criminal intimidation, assault, and other offences under BNS.Prabhavathi, who is the district president of the women's wing of Akhil Karnataka Kuluva Mahasangha, complained that on July 5, at Gandhi Bhavan, a meeting of the Karnataka SC nomadic communities was convened by Anjaneya. What started at about 11am continued through noon, following which, the complainants said, "Lohitaksha, a BJP spokesperson, stated that of the 51 SC recognised, only 49 were genuine nomads; the Korama and Koracha communities were not nomads. This created a conflict among the community members, and the commotion cut the meeting short."While the meeting resumed after a while, Pallavi is said to have tried to give her opinion, and the accused are said to have prevented her from speaking and asked her to leave. "When Pallavi condemned the false narratives, she was verbally abused. She and Prabhavathi were manhandled and inappropriately touched," stated the complaint.The women added that they were scratched and had their saris torn, aside from being given death threats, all in the presence of Anjaneya in a public forum.