AIR Dalit employees leave jobs owing to harassment and mental torture

AIR Dalit employees leave jobs owing to harassment and mental torture

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Mar 31: During the past decade, seven SC/ST employees of All India Radio, Mangalore, have left their jobs because of alleged harrassment by a group of non Dalit AIR employees, said O P Gautham, the national general secretary of the All India Akashvani and Doordarshan SC/ST Employees’ Welfare Association, adding that “Mangalore AIR is the hub of the worst kind of prejudice and casteism.” 

None of the seven have lodged formal complaints; but all of them said that they had left because of regular harassment and mental torture. 

Sudhakar said that he had been framed by a group of non Dalit employees at AIR, Mangalore, who are prejudiced against people belonging to the SC/ST, because they wanted to take revenge on him for a complaint he had filed under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act in 2008. 

The SP has ordered a probe into the matter. He also reprimanded the Kadri police, saying that such an extreme action was not required in such a petty case. 

Banandur Kempaiah, the executive producer of Doordarshan, said that he too was harassed when he was the station director of AIR Mangalore in 2000. 

Another former Dalit employee, who begged to remain anonymous, said that he had sought a transfer in 2009 because of harassment in the name of caste by non-Dalit employees, who repeatedly used to remark that they got the jobs only because of reservation. 

Mr. Gautham, Mr. Sudhakar, Mr. Kempaiah, as well as the former employee who wanted to remain anonymous accused the same group of non Dalit employees of having harassed them and forced them to leave their jobs. 

The station master of AIR Mangalore could not be contacted.