Muharram clash: Atrocity case booked against 39 in Koppal village

Koppal: An atrocity case was registered at Alwandi police station in Koppal district on Sunday evening after tensions during Muharram celebrations in Bochanahalli village. It is alleged that 39 upper-caste persons threatened Dalits to stay away from the festivities and avoid visiting mosques.In her complaint, Manjula Hiremani, a Dalit woman from the village, said the incident took place on June 26. “Accused Ganesh Ganisab threatened my father-in-law Yamanappa Pujar, asking him to stop playing drums and not visit mosques. They also assaulted him with slippers. When my relative Pujeppa tried to intervene, a group warned him not to come to the mosque, as he is a Dalit. They even threatened to set our house on fire if we approached the police,” she alleged.She further stated that when she tried to reach the police station to file a complaint, she was stopped and threatened. “Later, a larger group vandalised our houses and assaulted us. Seven persons were injured in the attack,” she said.Alwandi police said a case has been registered under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, along with various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigation is under way.