DK has highest cases of police atrocities in state'

[email protected] (CD Network, Photos by Ahmed Anwer)
March 1, 2011

Mangalore, March 1: Dakshina Kannada district tops in the state in the list of police atrocities and human rights suppression said former Karnataka High Court Judge, Justice Michael F Saldanha.

He was speaking after releasing a fact-finding report “State Terrorism-Police Atrocities in the Karavali Area” which is based on people's tribunal enquiry conducted by Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), an organization devoted to the preservation of constitutional civil liberties and human rights here on Tuesday.

When Transparency International, a human rights organization conducted a study in the year 2008, 2009 and 2010, it found that maximum number of police atrocity cases and human rights violation took place in the Dakshina Kannada followed by Udupi, Shimoga and Cickmagalur.

He said Amnesty International had already listed India as the fifth worst country with large number of human rights violation cases.

Beef traders and cattle traders were the main victims of these atrocities, Justice Saldanha said.

Citing Justice SR Nayak, Chairman of State Human Rights Commission, Saldanha said that despite he had passed 1211 orders related to human rights violations across the State, not a single accused has been punished.

Saldanha said “On November 8, 2008 when I and social activist Swamy Agnivesh visited the MSEZ site, two criminal cases were registered against us. There was also an attempt to murder me. This is the fate of people of Dakshina Kannada.” Despite 1.8 crore from the exchequer, has been spending on Police, there is no security for minorities especially for Muslims and Christians.

Some of the Recommendations

As an immediate measure, the State Government must set up Forums at the district level and the State level where individuals and their representatives will be able to point out specific instances of police atrocities and misconduct. These forums should have a monthly dialogue with the people's representatives where the action taken will have to be made public.

Similarly, at the district level and state level, the judiciary must set up a grievance cell which will be presided over by a Judge who will entertain complaints of miscarriage of Justice such as refusal to hear urgent applications, deferring orders for abnormally long periods of time and the action taken will have to be made public within a month, so that there will be total transparency of functioning.

In the cases of women's rights or atrocities and violence against women and human rights specific action is required from the state government with a public assurance.

PB D'Sa, State President, Walter Maben, Vice President, Muhammad Kakkinje, Vice President of NCHRO, Ali Hasan, President of Karnataka Beef Merchant's Association, BV Seetharam, Chief Editor of Karavali Ale who is also a victim of police atrocity, and victims Melwyn Pinto and Francis Karkala, were present on the occasion.

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November 10,2024

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those officials who change the land mutation records and serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act.

In a letter, the Revenue Department Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar Kataria reminded all regional commissioners and deputy commissioners in the districts that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently had a meeting following complaints about certain land properties being made in favour of the Karnataka Board of Waqfs.

In the meeting it was decided that all the directions issued previously by any government office or authority to change the mutation records has been withdrawn, the letter said.

It added that all the notices served in the past have also been withdrawn and no action should be taken against the farmers who are cultivating on the said land.

On the directions of the chief minister, the previous letters and the latest reminders served on November 7 to the farmers and land owners have been withdraw, the letter said.

"The officials who served reminder-2 despite the chief minister's direction will face appropriate disciplinary action," Kataria said in his letter.

He said he has been instructed to strictly implement the chief minister's direction.

The fresh direction was issued in poll-bound Karnataka, where bypolls to three crucial assembly segments are due on November 13.

Some farmers in Honwad village in Vijayapura in north Karnataka had alleged last month that they were served eviction notices as the Waqf Board claimed rights over it.

Subsequently, complaints started in pouring in from some other parts of the state.

BJP leader Tejasvi Surya on October 25 alleged that Karnataka Waqf Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan directed the deputy commissioners and revenue officials to register lands in favour of the Waqf Board within 15 days, which resulted in confusion.

On Surya's request, the Chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, Jagdambika Pal visited Karnataka on November 7 and met farmers in Hubballi, Vijayapura and Belagavi districts who had alleged that their lands were marked as Waqf properties.

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News Network
November 14,2024

srirang.jpg

Bengaluru: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi led union government has requested the Karnataka High Court to direct the Mandya district administration and the state government to clear a madrasa operating within the premises of the historic Jama Masjid in Srirangapatna.

The Waqf Board, opposing this move, has claimed the mosque as its property and defended the right to conduct madrasa activities there.

The matter was brought before a division bench headed by Chief Justice N V Anjaria following a public interest litigation filed by a person named Abhishek Gowda from Kabbalu village in Kanakapura taluk. The petition alleged “unauthorised madrasa activities” within the mosque.

Representing the Central government, Additional Solicitor General of India for High Court of Karnataka, K Arvind Kamath argued that the Jama Masjid was designated as a protected monument in 1951, yet unauthorised madrasa operations continue there.

He noted that concerns over potential law and order issues have so far prevented any intervention. Kamath urged the court to direct the Mandya district administration to take action and vacate the madrasa from the mosque.

In defence, lawyers for the state government and the Waqf Board contested this request, stating that the Waqf Board had been recognised as the owner of the property since 1963 and, thus, conducting madrasa activities there is lawful.

After hearing both sides, the bench adjourned the case for further arguments, scheduling the next hearing for November 20.

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