The Bengaluru police on Sunday, December 11, lathi-charged Dalit activists who were holding a protest at Freedom Park for the implementation of internal reservations within the Scheduled Caste category. The protestors were beaten back by the police as they tried to take a delegation to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai seeking the implementation of the Justice AJ Sadashiva Commission report which recommended that the Scheduled Caste category be subdivided in proportion to the population of the various communities within it.
In the fracas on Sunday, senior DSS leader Kariappa suffered a head injury due to a push during the police arrest and was immediately admitted to the KC General Hospital in Malleswaram. He was grievously injured even as around 200 protestors were detained by the police who allegedly attacked the gathering without warning.
The mass gathering at Freedom Park was a culmination of a padayatra that started from the gravesite of Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (DSS) founder Prof B Krishnappa in Harihara Taluk of Davangere. The agitation, which is being led primarily by members of the Madiga SC community, is gathering steam by the day, and following the violence on Sunday is expected to draw even larger numbers. Dalit leader have meanwhile given a call for a statewide agitation as a response to the police action.
This story was originally published in thenewsminute.com. Read the full story here