On Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah presented a Rs 25 lakh “compensation” cheque and pledged employment to the families of the six victims killed in communal incidents since 2018. The chief minister vowed to prevent such “unnatural deaths” in the state.
According to Siddaramaiah, Deepak Rao (Dakshina Kannada district) was killed on January 3, 2018; Masood (Dakshina Kannada district) on July 19, 2022; Mohammed Fazil (Dakshina Kannada) on July 28, 2022; Abdul Jalil (Dakshina Kannada) on December 24, 2022; Idrish Pasha (Mandya) on March 31, 2023; and Shamir (Gadag) on January 17, 2022, were killed in different incidents.
While Deepak Rao was hacked to death when Siddaramaiah was the Karnataka Chief Minister five and half years ago, the other five lost their lives during BJP rule.
Image Source: The Economic Times
According to the Chief Minister, the previous BJP government discriminated against people when providing aid, and it only provided compensation to Praveen Nettar’s family. Praveen Nettar, a BJP leader from Dakshina Kannada, and Harsha, a Bajrang Dal activist from Shivamogga, were killed last year.
When Praveen Nettar was killed, the then Karnataka Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) had gone to his house, which was right, but he should have also gone to Masood and Fazil’s houses, Siddaramaiah said. “As Chief Minister, Bommai had given jobs to the family members of Harsha and Praveen Nettar. That is okay, but shouldn’t others be given (jobs and compensation)?” he wondered.
The then Karnataka government did not compensate the next of kin of the six victims, the Chief Minister said. “Today, we are doing justice to their families. Along with that; we will investigate the case and ensure punishment to the guilty involved in the crime”. He claimed that while he was the opposition leader then, he had suggested in the Karnataka Assembly that the families of Muslims who had been killed receive jobs and compensation, but the BJP leadership had rejected the idea.
“After our government came to power, we are giving compensation of ₹25 lahks each to the families and ‘successors’ of those six people who were killed. We will give jobs to them because everyone should be looked at equally. The Government should not discriminate against people. The BJP people have discriminated. To rectify things, we are doing this work,” Siddaramaiah explained.
He added that the government would investigate the instances to ensure that those responsible for the crime would be punished. Karnataka’s Chief Minister also warned against communal tensions and moral policing. “We will not give room for such unnatural deaths. We will make every effort to see that there are no communal clashes in the state. Whoever they are, be it Hindus or Muslims, no one should die in communal clashes, and no one should take the law into their hands,” he said.
Also Read: The First Anti-Communal Wing In Karnataka Will Be Located In The Mangaluru Police Commissionerate.
Siddaramaiah said he had given directions to the police to check moral policing, adding that the government will not allow anyone to take the law into their hands. “We would like to give this clear message to the people of the state. We will protect everyone, be it Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikh. It is the responsibility of the government to protect everyone, their properties and life. No discrimination so far as the law enforcement is concerned,” the Chief Minister said.
