A three months old infant of a Dalit labour family in Tumkur was killed by the noise caused by the explosion of rocks. A video of this family not being allowed to bury their infant and forced to take out the cremated body went viral on social media on March 22, 2021. A blast was being carried out at the site of Yettinahole Pipeline and the noise from this blast killed the infant and has accused the family.
The security guard of the land next to the crematorium threatened the family of the infant after they had finished the final rites to take the body out. They were forced to take the buried body out. Agrahara Nagraj, a Dalit leader spoke to Gauri Media and said, ‘The land there has been a crematorium for a long time. There are many tombs in the field even to this day. ‘Shahi garments,’ an apparel industry is now claiming that the field is theirs. What should the landless Dalit families do?’
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The Tahsildar of Koratagere Taluk Govindraju speaking to Gauri Media said, ‘I visited the site and found out that the security guard was absconding. The land in question has been a site of creation, however the land is a private property. We have learnt that the Shahi garments have bought the land and have built a compound around the land.’ The officer also said that the land which is being claimed by Shahi garments as its, will be surveyed. Mr. Govindaraju also informed this portal that the family of the infant has already filed a complaint against the security guard and the authorities would be meeting the officials at the social welfare department to discuss the further measures.
Gavindraju also noted that the blast in question will also be examined.
First published in naanugauri.com our kannada website and translated by Yogesh
