E-Paper
SC women allege being denied essentials after complaint against liquor sale in Karnataka
Pattanayakanahalli police officers called a meeting of the shop owners and people of the SC community on Saturday and heard their grievances
Women from a scheduled caste community from Naragondanahalli village in Sira taluk in Tumakuru district have complained to the police that they are being denied daily necessities, including grocery items, after they filed a complaint about illegal sale of liquor in grocery shops, officials said.
“We have received complaints from a few SC community women about shop keepers denying grocery to them after police registered a case under excise act against a shop owner,’’ Pattanayakanalli police station sub-inspector N Bhavitha said.
According to the complaint, eight shops in Naragondanahalli village have been involved in the alleged illegal liquor trade. Two days ago, women from the village had filed a complaint with the police regarding the matter. Following their complaint, the shop owners allegedly refused to sell anything to the SC community in the village, accusing them of complaining to the police about liquor sale.
But shop owners denied having stopped giving items to anyone. “Women from the SC community took things earlier on credit. The shop owners told them that due to rising prices, they won’t be able to give certain items on credit,” a shop owner said wishing not tobe named.
Pattanayakanahalli police officers called a meeting of the shop owners and people of the SC community on Saturday and heard their grievances. “On Saturday night we convened a meeting of people from the SC community and upper castes and the problem has been resolved,” Bhavitha said. “If any shop keeper denies things to the SC community, a case will be filed against him.”
Bhavitha said that following the specific information on October 19 about liquor sale, they raided a kirana shop in the village and arrested the owner, booked him under section 15(A) and 32(3) (illegal possession and sale of liquor) of the Karnataka excise Act 1965.
“After the case was booked against the shopkeeper, all the shop owners refused to sell goods to our community,” Pattanayakanalli gram panchayat vice president B Narasappa said.
