Two weeks after a Muslim youth was hacked to death by members of the RSS/Bajrang Dal in Karnataka’s Nargund, a police inspector has been suspended on the charges of dereliction of duty and negligence.
Belagavi Northern Range IGP N Satish Kumar on Sunday issued suspension orders of Police Inspector Nandeshwar Kumbara in connection with the case, the Gadag-based Vijaya Sakshi paper reported.
Sameer Shahpur, a 19-year-old resident of Nargund taluk, Gadag district, was lynched by members of the right-wing extremist groups on January 17, 2022, while he was returning home on a motorcycle with his 20-year-old friend, Shamsher Khan. While Sameer succumbed to his wounds the next day, Shamsher survived but continues to be in a hospital.
The attack on the two happened soon after a gathering organised by Bajrang Dal and RSS on Monday in Nargund where slogans were raised against Muslims. Videos showed Bajrang Dal leader, Sanju Nalvade instigating violence against the Muslim community in the presence of police officers.
A fact-finding report by Bahutva Karnataka mentions that there was an FIR already registered against Nalvade in another incident when he was delivering the hate speech against Muslims. Instead of arresting him, the police allowed him to deliver violent threats against the community. “The police could have prevented the murder of Sameer if Nalvade was arrested earlier,” the report says.
“The last two years have seen a steady rise in hate speeches and the harassment of Muslims, with the intensity peaking since November 2021,” the report stated. “This is a consequence of systematic forms of atomised and targeted violence against Muslims fuelled by hate speeches.”
The silence of the governing dispensation in the state gives a tacit sanction and emboldens the members of the Sangh Parivar, who have complete disregard for the law and the Constitution,” it added, referring to multiple assaults in Karnataka in the past two months.
