KSHRC chairman meets victims of honour killing at Inam Veerapur

Chairman of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) T. Shyam Bhat on Tuesday said that the honour killing at Inam Veerapur in Dharwad district will be treated with utmost seriousness and the commission will recommend to the State government and the authorities concerned to take strict legal action against those responsible for it.

Mr. Shyam Bhat made the statement after meeting the affected families in Inam Veerapur of Hubballi taluk and assessing the ground realities during his visit to the village on Tuesday.

He emphasized the need for collective efforts to strengthen the principles of equality, co-existence and human values in society and directed the officials to organise public awareness programmes jointly with the district administration, zilla panchayat, the police and the Department of Social Welfare.

Emphasising that there is no scope for human rights violations, he also instructed officials to take precautionary measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

He asked the district administration and the police to continue holding peace meetings in villages to reduce fear, prevent the spread of misinformation and build trust among residents and instructed officials to ensure mental support, legal assistance and necessary relief to the affected families.

Earlier, Mr. Shyam Bhat, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J. and other officials, visited the houses of Dalit families in the village, including the residence of Vivekanand Doddamani who lost his pregnant wife in the honour killing.

After visiting the locations where the murder and assault took place, he interacted with local residents, police officials and representatives of the district administration to gather first-hand information.

Ms. Divya Prabhu said that the district administration has already submitted a proposal to the State government to fast-track the Inam Veerapur court case, appointment of special public prosecutors on behalf of the affected family and sanctioning special compensation.

She said that details of the proposal have been communicated to the district in-charge Minister and also, the Minister for Social Welfare.

Peace meetings have already been held in the village, during which residents pledged to maintain harmony and mutual trust. Awareness programmes are also being conducted at the village level to ensure peace and prevent spread of rumours, she said.

Later in the day, Mr. Bhat held a review meeting with senior officials at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Dharwad. He said that the affected family must be given complete assurance of security and that efforts should be made to restore an atmosphere of harmony in the village. He instructed officials to ensure that no individual or family faced human rights violations.

Officials informed the meeting that the investigation has been transferred to the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE).

Mr. Bhat instructed the Department of Social Welfare to extend all assistance to the family as per norms and asked the district administration to submit action taken reports from all departments to the Commission.

Members of the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission S.K. Vantigodi, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Bhuvanesh Patil, Superintendent of Police Gunjan Arya, Deputy Superintendent of Police Vinod Muktedar, Tahsildar G.R. Majjagi, Hubballi Rural Police Inspector Muragesh Channannavar, Joint Director of Social Welfare P. Shubha, Assistant Director Priyadarshini Hiremath, Child Development Project Officer Ateeka Siddi and officials from various departments were present during the visit and review meeting.