Dowry deaths drop sharply in Karnataka: Report
Bengaluru: Dowry deaths in Karnataka have declined sharply since 2023, Deccan Herald reported, citing official data. The number fell from 158 in 2023 to 112 in 2024 — a 30% drop — and further to 48 in the first five months of 2025.
Crimes against women under various sections have also seen a slight decrease. Director General and Inspector General of Police M.A. Saleem attributed the drop to stricter law enforcement and faster case closures. "We have ensured strict action against the offenders and closed the cases within 60 days. Hence, the cases are on a decline," DH quoted him as saying.
Another senior officer said increased awareness among women has encouraged more to report harassment, helping prevent deaths. Dowry harassment cases, however, fell only marginally from 2,960 in 2023 to 2,912 in 2024.
"If we observe, the number of dowry harassment cases has not come down significantly compared to deaths. This shows that more women are approaching the police against such harassment and we have been able to prevent deaths," the officer explained.
However, women’s rights activists believe dowry harassment remains widespread in Karnataka. K.S. Vimala of the Janavaadi Mahila Sanghatane said economic vulnerability and social stigma discourage many women from filing complaints, leading to under-reporting. “If they come out and complain against their families, they have no place else to go. In many other cases, women think it it brings shame to the family," DH quoted Vimala as saying.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
