A member of the Sri Rama Sene allegedly orchestrated the poisoning of the water in a government school in Belagavi district in order to get the principal, who is a Muslim, transferred.
On July 14, several children aged between seven and 10 years fell sick after drinking water at the Government Lower Primary School in Janata Colony in Hoolikatte village. The headmaster of the school, Suleman Gorinaik, lodged a complaint with the Soundatti Police Station, who registered a case under Sections 110 (culpable homicide) and 125(a) (endangering life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Soundatti police told TNM that on investigating, it was learned that a boy studying in the school had poured a commonly used insecticide into the water tank in the school.
Inquiries then led the police to a man named Krishna Madara who allegedly got the child to pour the insecticide by giving him chocolates and money. However, police said that the crime was allegedly orchestrated by Sagara Patil, the Saundatti taluk president of the Sri Rama Sene.
Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bhimshankar Guled told the media that Sagara Patil did this to target the headmaster, who had been teaching at the school for 13 years.
“Sagara, who is associated with the Sri Rama Sene, wanted Suleman Gorinaik, the school headmaster, to be transferred. The investigation has found that through this incident, he wanted the headmaster to get a bad name,” Bhimshanker told the media on Saturday, August 2.
Bhimshankar also said that Sagara was the main accused who had orchestrated the crime and that he had been planning this for two months. He learned that Krishna Madara, who worked with him as a driver, was in a relationship with a woman not of his caste. He used this information to coerce him into buying the insecticide and also to use the child. Sagara also got his relative Naganagouda involved. The police have arrested all three men.
“It is unfortunate that the accused are all young and have carried out such an act at a time when they’re supposed to be building the country. They have also used an under-age boy. That boy was innocent and they used his innocence for their heinous crime,” Bhimshankar said.
The children are recovering, Bhimshankar added.
Chief Minister reacts
Commenting on the incident, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that it was fortunate that there had been no loss of life and questioned whether Sri Rama Sene president Pramod Muthalik, state BJP president BY Vijayendra, or Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka would take responsibility for the incident.
“This incident, which could have caused the deaths of little children, testifies to the kind of heinous acts that people motivated by religious fundamentalism and communal hatred can commit. I am unable to believe that such cruelty and hatred can exist in the land of the sharanas who said that compassion is the essence of religion,” Siddaramaiah said.
Sharanas were part of the bhakti movement in Karnataka (6-15th centuries). Their poems, which advocated compassion and kindness while criticising caste, gender and class hierarchies, are collectively called Vachana literature or Sharana literature.
Siddaramaiah also said that the state government had constituted a special task force to tackle communal violence and hate speech and that all lawful action would be taken. “For our efforts to achieve results, the public too must raise their voice against such forces, express their opposition, and file complaints,” he said.
He also lauded the police for solving a conspiracy that aimed to “massacre children” and said appropriate punishment would be ensured for the accused.