Sixteen people from the Dalit community were trapped in a house and tortured for nearly 15 days by a coffee plantation owner in Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka.
The accused Jagadeesha Gowda and his son Tilak Gowda tortured the Dalits including a two-month pregnant woman. The woman later lost her baby. The accused are currently on the run and police are looking for them.
According to the FIR copy, the Dalits were working as daily wagers at Gowda’s plantation in Jenugadde village. They had borrowed a sum of Rs 9 lakh from the accused.
Trouble started when Gowda did not receive his money back.
“On October 8, a few people came to Balehonnur police station, alleging their relatives were being tortured by Jagadeesh Gowda. But later that day, they withdrew the complaint,” said a senior police officer.
The investigating officer confirmed that he saw around 8-10 people locked up when he reached Gowda’s spot.
“They were trapped in the house for 15 days. There are four families which include 16 members and all are from Scheduled Castes. According to the complainant, all 16 were trapped,” said the officer.
On October 9, one of the victims Arpitha, who was also pregnant at that time was admitted to the district hospital. A fresh complaint was lodged then against Gowda and his son.
Arpita later said that she and her husband were assaulted and tortured by Gowda which led to the death of her unborn child.
Superintendent of Police Uma Prashanth of Chikkamagaluru district said that those who had borrowed money from Gowda had left home when the incident took place.
“Some of the men who borrowed money had left home, and so the owner kept the rest locked up, according to the complaint by the victims’ families,” she said.
A case has been booked against Gowda and his son Tilak under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Section 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (Punishment for wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC).
Allegations of ties to BJP
Distancing itself from the incident, the party’s district spokesperson Varasiddhi Venugopal said Gowda is not a party worker and just a supporter.
“Neither is Jagadeesh a party worker nor a member. He’s just a BJP supporter. He is just like any other voter,” he said.
