On September 4th in a shocking incident, a Dalit man fined Rs 25,000 after their 2-year-old son entered a Hanuman temple in Miyapura village in Koppal district of Karnataka.
Man fined Rs 25,000
The incident took place when the family took the toddler to the Hanuman temple in Miyapur village to seek blessings on his birthday. As per the villager’s rules the Dalits are not allowed to enter into the temple, they always prayed standing in front of the temple.
The parents wanted to pray from the outside. However, the toddler ran inside the temple in excitement and prayed to the god and came back. Then this became a big issue as upper caste villagers thought that the temple was desecrated as a Dalit boy had entered it. Regarding this incident, they held a meeting on 11th September and asked the parents to pay Rs 23,000 as fine for purification rituals in the temple.
Awareness programme initiated
“Chandrashekhar and his family members were standing outside but the boy ran inside the temple, which irked the temple priest who sought to make it an issue,” the officials said.
After knowing of the incident the district administration has sent police, revenue and social welfare department officials to the village. The officers have conducted an awareness programme for the villagers regarding caste discrimination and untouchability.
Five members arrested
The officers have arrested five members of the upper caste for ordering a fine. And let them off warning that legal actions will be taken if these kinds of incidents happen again.
T. Sridhar, Superintendent of Police, Koppal, told IANS that he visited the spot and admonished the culprits. The culprits then ask for an apology to the parent of the boy. Though the police went to the victim’s house to ask them to lodge a complaint, the community elders decided not to do it.
Upper caste members opposed the action
“The people from upper caste themselves opposed the action of the members of their own community and apologized to the Dalit boy’s family,” he explained. Later in the presence of police, a grand Puja was celebrated in the village where all the communities of the took part including Chandrasekhar.
