10 arrested for 'social boycott' of Dalit family in Yadgir: Police | Latest News from India

The development came after the Dalit family living in Bapparaga village in Hunsagi taluk of Yadgiri filed a complaint with the police stating that their 13-year-old daughter was allegedly attacked by a 21-year-old upper-caste man who had promised her marriage.

On Saturday, the Narayanapura police had filed a case against 10 accused, identified as Shankaragowda Mali Patil, Chandappa Tumbagi, Eranna Malipatil, Yallalinga Gowdar, Muddamma, Eerabai Devur, Bharatesh Hubli, Ashoka Mali, Bandeppa Dolli and Shanthava Biradar, who were booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and under sections 351 (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Yadgir Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Javed Inamdar said, “All the accused fled the village soon after the FIR was registered. We have launched a manhunt to arrest them.”

“We became aware of the discrimination against the Dalit community through social media in connection with the Pocso case. Our team, which includes police officers, revenue officials and social workers, visited Bapparaga village on Friday and conducted a peace meeting with the elders of the community. Though we have not yet received any official complaint about the social boycott, we will take action if one is lodged,” said Superintendent of Police G Sangeetha.

On August 12, the girl's parents reported the crime to the police and a Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Assault) case was registered against the accused. But on September 9, the upper caste community of the village imposed a social boycott on the family, said a local resident who wished to remain anonymous.

He added that local shopkeepers were instructed not to sell food, daily necessities or school supplies to the family, forcing them to travel long distances to buy essentials. The family was also threatened and intimidated to make them withdraw their complaint, he said. An audio recording has surfaced of shopkeepers expressing their helplessness in the face of the village leaders' strict instructions.