Villagers remained silent spectators during the naked parade of the victim
Bengaluru. The Karnataka High Court on Monday opined that the government should impose a fine on the villagers who remained mute spectators when a Dalit woman was stripped and paraded around and the amount should be given to the victim. Chief Justice P.B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. The division bench headed by Dixit, taking note of the PIL filed in the matter, further said that the Karnataka government should make a provision to punish or impose fine on the people of Vantamuri village in Belagavi district, where the incident took place.
The bench said that during the British rule, Governor General William Bentinck imposed additional duty on villages where people were involved in theft. Similarly, if additional duty is imposed in the present circumstances, people will show more responsibility in the future. The court said, “If people become mute spectators when such incidents happen, then what message does it send to the society? Villagers who show cowardice for selfish reasons should understand their responsibility towards the community. Such actions cannot be tolerated. The government will have to impose additional fees and collect fines on every resident of the village.
“It is condemnable for the villagers to remain mute spectators at a time when a woman is stripped and assaulted. If such incidents are to be stopped in future, a message will have to be given to the civil society. In this background, we are ordering recovery of the fine.”
Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, representing the government, said that a man named Jahangir helped the woman. Advocate General Shetty said, “When the incident happened, there were 60 to 70 people there and no one, including gram panchayat members, dared to help the victim.” He said, “The victim has been counseled and is being given better treatment. His health is improving daily.
“The government has taken the matter seriously and has handed it over to CID for effective investigation. 11 people have been arrested. The government has also given two acres of land and Rs 5 lakh to the woman as compensation. Police officers and others who were negligent have been suspended. He said that if the Gram Panchayat members had intervened, this incident would not have happened.
The bench said that the incident has no political connection and its objective is to provide justice to the victim. The incident took place on December 10 when the 42-year-old woman was dragged, stripped and paraded outside her house. Then he was tied to an electric pole and beaten. His mistake was that his son had eloped with a village girl. The girl’s family tortured the boy’s mother.
