Karnataka: 2 Dalit youths allegedly beaten to death in Tumakuru; Police initiate probe

In a shocking incident, two Dalit youths were beaten to death at Peddanahalli village in Karnataka's Tumakuru on Thursday night. According to the police officials, the youths were thrashed to death. The police also revealed that the deceased were notorious criminals and were involved in many robbery cases in the region. 

The police officials said that the youths were tortured and killed in Peddanahalli village in the Tumakuru district of Karnataka. The bodies were found on the outskirts of the village.

According to the police officials, the youths were tied up, thrashed, and then killed. After that, one of the bodies was dumped into the nearby pond and the other one was thrown onto the nearby farm, police officials said. Police recovered their bodies and initiated an investigation into the matter. 

According to the police officials, Girish Mudalagiriappa, 30, and Girish, 32, both Dalits, had been named in a number of petty theft cases, including a water pump, a motorcycle, etc.

According to the police, these two were transported to an isolated location on Thursday night and they went freely with the primary suspect. To ensure they couldn't flee, the chief accused and their accomplices placed their feet over a fire. They were then allegedly beaten to death, police officials reported.

The Tumakuru police have started an investigation into the matter. The police official said that a special team led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police is working on the cases. Police are working on other theories as well, he indicated. The possibility of a personal grudge or old rivalry is also being looked into.

Dalit man asked to rub his nose in his own spit in Odisha

The incident occurred in Odisha on April 17 after Tikhiri sarpanch Chameli Ojha visited Gurucharan Mallick's residence to collect contributions for a temple. When Mallick, 32, declined to offer money, claiming that he had already given a donation, the sarpanch allegedly abused him and his wife, Rekha.

On Sunday, the villagers were allegedly instructed to boycott Mallick's family at a meeting. According to Rekha's complaint to Marshaghai police, they also forced the Dalit man to rub his nose in his own spit as a reprimand. The claims were, however, rejected by the sarpanch. "All of the accusations levelled against me are baseless. "There was no such incident," he stated.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) filed a notice to the Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on April 22, requesting a report including the investigation status, and statutory remedies granted to a Dalit man in Odisha's Kendrapada district after he was allegedly forced to rub his nose in his own spit.

The notice by NHRC said, “The National Human Rights Commission, India has taken a suo-motu cognisance of a media report of the incident wherein a Dalit man was allegedly forced to rub his nose in his own spit in front of a village Sarpanch and locals in Kendrapada district of Odisha. The Commission has issued a notice to the Odisha Chief Secretary calling for a report within six weeks including status of investigation of the case, which has been reportedly registered by the police, as well as the status of statutory relief paid to the victims.”