Karnataka dalit group demands action in Dharmasthala attack on YouTubers

MANGALURU: The Karnataka Dalit Horata Samithi condemned the attack on YouTubers and a reporter from a private Kannada news channel in Dharmasthala recently. Samithi district leader S.P. Anand told reporters on Saturday that while the Dakshina Kannada police arrested one person in connection with the incident, around 50–60 individuals were involved in the attack.

“All those responsible must be arrested and booked under stringent laws,” he demanded.Anand pointed out that one of the injured, cameraman Abhishek, belongs to the Dalit community. “The FIR should also include provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with sections related to robbery,” he said. The Samithi plans to petition the DK Superintendent of Police and the home minister on the matter.According to Anand, the miscreants alleged that false propaganda was being spread on social media about Dharmasthala’s sacred place. “We too respect Dharmasthala and are not against it. We only want the police to identify those who orchestrated the attacks,” he said.He welcomed the Special Investigation Team’s probe into the alleged mass burial case in Dharmasthala and urged it to bring out the truth. “It is an attack on the democratic process, which is aimed at uncovering the truth,” he said.Samithi leader Anil Kumar alleged that the assault was a deliberate conspiracy to suppress facts. “All wrongdoers must be punished law is equal for all in this country,” he asserted.