The family members of 52-year-old, Jagadevappa Kotnoor, who was assaulted by a group of people in his village on the night of October 26 and who breathed his last on Tuesday, staged a protest with the body outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Wednesday.
Last month, the group of people assaulted Kotnoor reportedly after an altercation, causing grievous injuries to him. He was admitted to a private hospital in Kalaburagi for 17 days and on Monday, he was shifted to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) Hospital. But he did not respond to treatment and breathed his last on Tuesday.
Soon after the body was handed over to the family members after autopsy, the bereaved relatives took the body to the Deputy Commissioner’s office and placed it on the road outside the office building, demanding action against the accused.
The family members, along with activists from pro-Dalit organisations, raised slogans against the Police Department, district in-charge Minister Priyank Kharge and the State government. They said that police officers have not made any effort to arrest the accused. The final rites of Kotnoor were performed amid tight security.
The Mahagaon Police have registered a case against seven people, Shankar P. Naikodi, Devraj G. Naikodi, Sunil S. Naikodi, Manik S. Naikodi, Vishal T. Naikodi, Anil G. Naikodi and Siddram S. Naikodi, all residents of Harkanchi village in Kamalapur tauk.
The police arrested Shankar, Devaraj and Sunil within hours of the case was registered on October 27. The police also arrested Manik recently, while Anil, Vishal and Siddram are absconding.
Suspended
Two policemen, Ashok and Suryakant, have been suspended for negligence in connection with the case.
Accused Shankar is a history-sheeter. In addition to him, the Kalaburagi District Police have opened history-sheet against six accused.
