Belagavi officer attacked for refusing to provide papers in Marathi: Police

Kodli, who sustained serious injuries to his head and legs, is currently undergoing treatment at the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences

A Karnataka government official was assaulted at Ambewadi village in Belagavi for allegedly refusing to provide official documents in Marathi, marking the second such incident in the district within a month, officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

Police said that the attackers are currently absconding. (Representational image)

Nagappa Kodli, the secretary of Ambewadi gram panchayat, was attacked on Monday evening while he was riding his two-wheeler near his office. Belagavi police commissioner Ada Martin said that a group, led by the son of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) district convener Chetan Patil, and his associate, Vikram Yellurkar, assaulted Kodli using iron rods, knives and sticks. Four to five other people were also involved in the attack. Police have not yet revealed the name of Patil’s son.

Kodli, who sustained serious injuries to his head and legs, is currently undergoing treatment at the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS). In his complaint to Kakati police, he said that the group repeatedly threatened him for not providing official documents in Marathi. He told them that the government guidelines mandated official dealings only in Kannada, following which the group assaulted him. Farmers working nearby intervened and rescued him, the complaint added.

Commissioner Martin confirmed that the attackers are currently absconding. “All those involved in the assault are at large, and a search operation is on to apprehend them,” she said.

Investigations have revealed that the prime accused, Patil’s son and Yellurkar, whose mother is the president of Ambewadi gram panchayat, previously opposed Kodli’s deployment of over 350 workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. They allegedly wanted to take over contracts for the project, which was not permitted under government norms.

The incident follows a similar attack last month in Sulebhavi village, where Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation bus conductor Mahadev Hukkeri was assaulted for not conversing in Marathi. The violence had led to a suspension of bus services between Karnataka and Maharashtra for nearly a week.

Dr Ashok Kumar Shetty, director of BIMS, said that Kodli has sustained multiple serious injuries and will require at least 25 days of hospitalisation followed by extended bed rest. “He is in the trauma and emergency block but is out of danger,” he said.

Police have registered a case under sections 109 (attempt to murder) and 131 (assault with weapons) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). In response to the growing attacks on Kannadigas, Kannada organisations have called for a statewide bandh on March 22.