Specially-abled couple slapped with Rs. 30k fine, social boycott for inter-caste marriage in K'taka
Bengaluru: In an incident reported from N Devarahalli in Chitradurga district, a specially-abled couple faced social boycott and were slapped with a fine of Rs 30,000 by leaders of the Jogi community. The couple, Savithramma and Manikantha, both hailing from different castes and living with hearing and speech impairments, had entered into an inter-caste marriage three years ago.
Recently, after Savithramma returned to Devarahalli with her husband during her postpartum period, community leaders from her native village expressed strong disapproval of her decision to marry outside her caste. Consequently, they ostracized the couple and imposed a hefty fine on them.
Under the pressure from the community leaders, the couple was compelled to leave the village. Seeking refuge, Savithramma and Manikantha, along with their newborn child, sought shelter at the Santwana Kendra in Challakere before eventually returning to Bengaluru.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
FIR filed against three individuals, website for spreading false news involving VB, ‘Op Sindoor’
Mangaluru, May 15: An FIR has been registered at the Mangaluru South Police Station against three individuals and a news website for allegedly spreading false and provocative content involving Kannada daily Vartha Bharati and "Operation Sindoor".
The complaint was lodged by B.M. Basheer, News Editor of Vartha Bharati, who sought legal action against those misusing his name, the name of the newspaper, and "Operation Sindoor" to circulate misleading and defamatory content.
According to the complaint, a Facebook post by Nithin Shamanur titled ‘Operation Sindoor: Kannada Journalist’s brother’s wife Finished’ contained false information and featured a photograph of a woman and soldiers. This same post was allegedly shared by two others — Santosh Hegade and Bettampady Chandra — on their Facebook profiles. In addition, the same content was reportedly published by the website newsputtur.com.
Basheer stated that the news being circulated is completely baseless and inflammatory, and accused the individuals involved of attempting to mislead the public. He warned that such content could spark unrest, especially in the already sensitive environment of coastal Karnataka.
“This baseless and provocative misinformation in the name of ‘Operation Sindoor’ is misleading the public and has the potential to incite unrest in society,” said Basheer in his complaint. “Given the already sensitive atmosphere in coastal Karnataka due to recent developments, such rumors are likely to further destabilize the situation.”
He demanded strict legal action against Nithin Shamanur, Santosh Hegade, Bettampady Chandra, and the editor of newsputtur.com, including registration of a criminal case and a thorough investigation into the matter.
Acting on the complaint, the Mangaluru South Police have registered an FIR against all four accused under relevant sections for allegedly spreading false, defamatory, and inflammatory content online. Further investigation is underway.
