Mangaluru,Oct 30, 2015 : A Dalit family which was being reportedly being threatened by some persons has approached the media seeking justice.
Speaking to media persons on October 29, Thursday, Venkatesh stated his family resided in the survey no 40-2 at Srinivasnagar in Suratkal where a house constructed by his father was located. He said though the family owned 38 cents land, ten cents was handed over for construction of a temple while the rest of the land had a house, 16 coconut trees and a pond.
Venkatesh alleged that following his father’s demise in 2010, his neighbours namely Rajesh Shetty, Padmanabha Shetty and Babu Shetty had begun to harass the family and demand even the 28 cents land for the temple. He said when he and his family were away, the accused had entered their land, destroyed coconut trees and even robbed household goods worth nearly Rs 2 lakhs. "When we returned after two days, the accused did not allow us to enter our own house,’’ he alleged and added that they even threatened to kill the family if they complained to the police.
He said the accused who were arrested some time back, were now out on bail and have begun making threatening calls demanding that the complaint be withdrawn.
" A person named Anil Mukkaje, also a Dalit is now residing in a new house constructed in our land, despite him having a house at Kavoor and another house in some other place," Venkatesh alleged.
His family members Neelesh, Sunder, Babitha and Kusuma were present.