Pic: Excise minister RB Timmapur visited Vivekanand Doddamani’s family members, who were brutally assaulted by Manya Patil’s parents on Dec 21, at Inam Veerapur village here on Tuesday. He also visited Doddamani’s mother Renavva, who is still recovering at a private hospital in Hubballi. He was accompanied by DC Divya Prabhu GRJ, ZP CEO Bhuvanesh Patil, SP Gunjan Arya, Madar Chennayya Swamiji and govt officialsDharwad: Excise minister RB Timmapur on Tuesday directed the police and district administration to take all necessary steps to ensure peace and harmony in Inam Veerapur village in Hubballi taluk and to provide compensation and protection to the affected family as per rules.A 20 year-old pregnant woman Manya Patil succumbed to injuries recently after being assaulted by her father and others for marrying a dalit man in the village. Manya’s husband and in-laws were also allegedly assaulted in the incident.Addressing a meeting with the district administration at the deputy commissioner’s office here on Tuesday morning, the minister reviewed details of the assault and murder case reported from Inam Veerapur village.Terming the incident as inhuman, the minister said such mindsets were eroding the social fabric. “Those responsible must be punished severely. All necessary cooperation should be extended to govt prosecutors,” he said.He instructed that all those named in the FIR should be arrested and that officials must act in a manner that does not disturb communal harmony and social cohesion in the village.The minister noted that while the revenue and social welfare departments had performed their duties, the response should have been quicker. He observed that the tragedy could not be prevented due to the lack of timely intelligence inputs. He added that the deputy commissioner had ordered an inquiry into post-incident actions taken by various departments and adherence to rules. “The inquiry should be conducted transparently and a report submitted,” he said.Deputy commissioner Divya Prabhu said the demands of the Vivekanand Doddamani family had been addressed at the district level, and proposals on certain demands would be submitted to the govt. She said a peace meeting had already been held in the village and the Doddamani family had been rehabilitated in their house. “Villagers had assured the administration of maintaining peace and harmony. Adequate police deployment, medical treatment and counselling for the family had been arranged, and Rs 5 lakh compensation had already been disbursed. Preventive surveillance was being maintained in the village and among the families concerned,” she added.District superintendent of police Gunjan Arya; joint director of the social welfare department Shubha P; police commissioner N Shashi Kumar; ZP CEO Bhuvanesh Patil, Hubballi Rural tahsildar JB Majjagi, police inspector Murugesh Channannavar, assistant director Priyadarshini Hiremath and others explained the post-incident measures taken.DCRE Vijayapura DySP and investigating officer in the Inam Veerapur case Sandeep Singh Murgod, ACP Prashant Siddanagoudar, inspector Veerabhadrappa Kadi and others were present at the meeting.
