A day after violent protests in Navalgund town of Dharwad district, Karnataka police is being accused of carrying out atrocities against the locals in its bid to control the situation .
The police have been accused of barging into homes and indiscriminately beating up people, including the elderly. There was even one incident of a pregnant woman being allegedly beaten by the cops.
After protesters indulged in arson attacks and stone pelting, the local police carried out a massive crackdown on Friday in Yamanur village of Navalgund Taluk. A pregnant woman alleged that the policemen entered her house and physically assaulted her, despite her informing them that she was pregnant.
“There is no one in my house. My husband is out-of-station. So out of fear, when I saw the police coming, I closed the door. But the police forcibly opened the door and slapped me and struck my stomach with his lathi” the woman told a Suvarna News reporter.
“I came back home from my farm. The police forcibly opened the door and started beating us. My hands, legs and shoulders are wounded and there is a swelling in my hands. Now I am unable to work my farm. Besides, they forcibly dragged out my only son and have arrested him,” another farmer reported.
Locals claimed that the police crackdown began right after a visit by minister of state for Mines and Geology Vinay Kulkarni, who is the district incharge minister for Dharwad.
