Even as the Opposition is pressuring the state government to arrest the accused minister, the cops are treading slow, citing a lack of evidence.
D Sudhakar.
The Bengaluru City Police are yet to initiate their investigation into the FIR registered against Planning and Statistics Minister D Sudhakar who, along with his associates, has been accused of hurling casteist slurs at a mother-daughter duo.
The accused, including the minister, reportedly assaulted the daughter while she objected to a demolition carried out by them in Yelahanka in Bengaluru on Saturday, 9 September.
Based on a complaint by Subbamma (45), the Yelahanka police booked Sudhakar, members of Seven Hills Developers and Traders — a realty firm of which the minister is said to be a partner, and two of Sudhakar’s associates, Srinivas G and Bhagyamma, along with 35-40 other people.
They were booked under sections of the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, and sections of the IPC, including 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 149 (offences against public tranquillity), 447 (criminal trespass), and 323 (assault).
According to the complainants Subbamma and her daughter Asha, they reside at a property in the KHB Colony of the Gandhinagar area in Yelahanka in Bengaluru. The property is currently under dispute.
Subbamma filed a complaint with the police claiming the other party fraudulently created a deed for the three-acre land for which a case was pending at the City Civil and Sessions Court under the Original Suite (OS). Simultaneously, a writ petition on the issue was pending before the Karnataka High Court.
One Saturday afternoon, the minister and his associates Srinivas and Bhagyamma arrived at the property with around 40 people, including 15 women, in a car and with an earthmover, said the complainants. They began demolishing structures, sheet roofs, and compound walls, they added.
Subbamma and Asha, who were returning from a nearby temple, rushed to their house upon hearing the commotion.
They said in the complaint that they were threatened and subjected to casteist slurs, and Asha was physically assaulted while trying to stop the earthmover.
The minister and his associates accused Subbamma and Asha of encroachment, but the mother-daughter duo insisted on letting the court make the final decision.
A senior police officer privy to the case told South First that though the incident of demolition had occurred, and they had proof of it, they had no evidence to suggest that casteist slurs were hurled by the accused.
However, since the complainants belonged to the Dalit community and had given a complaint saying so, “we have registered the FIR”, the officer added.
Meanwhile, a purported video of Sudhakar has gone viral on social media, showing the minister allegedly abusing and threatening some people.
Following the incident, Sudhakar is said to have met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara, and discussed the case with them.
Stating that the land deal was lawfully done several years ago, the minister said the Atrocities Act case was filed against him “all of a sudden”. “It is completely false,” he said.
“There is no question of me abusing any caste,” said the minister, adding: “A conspiracy has been hatched against me as I am a minister now. There is law and courts and I am open to any inquiry.”
The BJP in the Opposition sought either the minister’s resignation or his removal from the Cabinet to instil confidence in the Dalit community following the alleged atrocity that they had had to undergo at the hands of a lawmaker.
BJP leader and former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai demanded Sudhakar’s resignation and urged the police to not succumb to any pressure and deal with it as any normal case.
“This is the double standard of the Congress government. They made a hue and cry when they were in the Opposition, and now, when they are in power, they have no respect for the law of the land. We demand a fair and transparent investigation without any interference from the minister,” a BJP spokesperson told South First.
“This is a case of Dalit atrocity, that too by a lawmaker, and therefore it has to be dealt with seriously. Minister Sudhakar should resign on moral grounds. If he does not do so, the chief minister should drop him from the Cabinet,” he added.
Responding to the allegations, Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar termed it a false case and ruled out any chances of Sudhakar tendering his resignation.
“It is a private issue. I have checked with Sudhakar and others. It is a false case. Nothing has happened. It is a civil dispute. They are trying to misuse the act (Atrocities Act), which they shouldn’t have. It can be misused against anyone tomorrow,” he said.
“Everyone, including Sudhakar, has to respect the law. Officers have explained that it is a false case,” he said.
The Yelahanka police on Monday sought documents from both parties to verify and ascertain who was the original owner of the property.
Asked about the investigation proceedings, such as issuing of notice or summoning him (minister) for questioning or even the arrest of the lawmaker as the sections booked against him are non-bailable, the police said that these processes require intimation and permission from the Speaker.
Further investigations were underway, the officer concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
