Bengaluru, Dec 16 – Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday slammed the Congress government in Karnataka over an alleged incident of a tribal woman being dragged out of her house, tied to an electric pole and then paraded naked in New Vantamuri village in Belagavi district, after her son eloped with a girl.
Sharing the screenshot of the incident reported in the media and observations made by the Karnataka High Court on the issue, Sitharaman came down heavily on the Congress government’s “mishandling” of the episode.
“In @INCIndia there is no ‘nyay’ for the SCs and STs. The recent incident in Belagavi, Karnataka falls in the same category as those repeated atrocities against the Dalits seen till recently in Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. For Congress, the downtrodden are just a vote bank,” the FM wrote on X.
The alleged screenshot highlighted the way the victim was subjected to severe trauma when she was tied to a pole and brutally beaten up for an extended period of 2 hours. All this, when her husband, a truck driver, was away on duty.
It also stated that the victim was dragged from her house, stripped and paraded, and then tied to a pole, besides questioning the effectiveness of law enforcement and the overall state of law and order in Karnataka.
The post also threw light on the criminal activities registered in the state which stood at 43,000 in just one year, reflecting a concerning trend in the frequency and severity of such activities.
It also highlighted the absence of effective policing as there was a 2-hour delay in police reaching the location.
The post also highlighted observations made by the Karnataka High Court which heavily criticised the state government’s handling of the case and directed for the presence of the Commissioner of Police before the Court with a status report regarding the investigation.
The Court raised question marks on policing and preventing incidents such as these from taking place, and also expressed their shock and shame while the country is celebrating its 76th year of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav.
