Dalit boy fined Rs. 60,000/- for touching village deity’s idol in Karnataka

Patna (CNA Media/Insaaf Times) A dalit boy has been fined Rs 60,000 for touching the feet of the idol deity in Karnataka“Last week, the village deity was taken out in a procession, when the boy belonging to a Dalit community, touched Bhootamma’s (village deity) idol,” police officials said.Residents of the village, along with Gram Panchayat members, then called the boy and his family and accused them of “defiling” the idol.The village elders threatened the family into paying Rs 60,000 as a ‘penalty’There is no known ban that prohibits the Scheduled Caste communities in Ullerahalli, Malur Taluk in Kolar.The dalit boy’s mother is daily wage worker and there is no possibility for her to amass such an amount of money. Despite this, the family has received threats. The Gram Panchayat members insisted the family pay on the pretext of ‘cleaning and purifying the idol’.Dalit welfare organization, Ambedkar Seva Samithi, was alerted and they hurried to the village. The Kolar police have booked a suo moto case against the Gram Panchayat and village elders under provisions of the Protection of Civil Rights Act.

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