Bangalore: High drama at Vidhana Soudha: Family of six threatens self-immolation
Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)
Bangalore, Feb 21: A family of six including two senior citizens and a child, seated in a Maruti Omni van (KA 17 MD 5055), staged a protest in front of the Vidhana Soudha here since early morning on Friday February 21, threatening to set themselves afire. The vehicle in which they were seated, was parked in front of the gates of Vikasa Soudha.
Mahesh and his wife Dakshayani
The protest has drawn lot of interest because of its uniqueness, and the police have been facing harrowing time as they fear facing the wrath of ministers for their inability to move the family away. After lot of cajoling and promises of sympathetic consideration of their demands, the occupants of the car agreed to come out and be seated in a ambulance, at around 9.30 am.
Dakshayani (32), her husband, K Mahesh Bhupathi (38), daughter, Vidya (17) and son, Chandan (11), residents of K R Layout in Tumkur along with two senior citizens were the occupants of the car.
The family was holding a bottle full of petrol, threatening to commit suicide through self-immolation, if anyone comes nearby. They have demanded for the presence of chief minister, home minister, or child and family welfare minister to approach them and lend an ear to their grievances and promise justice. Protracted efforts of the police and other officials to convince the family to come out and approach the concerned personally as and when they come to the office, had not yielded necessary fruits for a long time.
The family, through typed matter pasted on three sides of the van, has accused retired assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Subbanna, of harassing the family since the last four years in various ways, in connivance with teh brothers of Dakshayini. They say they are involved in a family dispute over property and that corrupt police officials have been inflicting insults and injustices on them since long.
The family members claim they had met various police officers including top ranking ones, as well as some ministers so far, over the last some years on ths issue. They have said they did not get justice from any of these. A fire tender, police van, a Karnataka State Reserve Police contingent had been stationed at the spot to face any contingency since morning.
Dakshayani, K Mahesh Bhupathi, Vidya and son Chandan had consumed poison at the DGP office at Nrupatunga Road here in June 2013. They had handed over a complaint at the office before collapsing. They say that retired ACP Subbanna had, in connivance with brothers of Dakshayini, been torturing them. They had sought enquiry by criminal investigation department.
They had said they had complained to the concerned against Subbanna as well as Dakshayini’s brothers, Kantaraju, Somashekhar, and Amaresh, as well as some police officials in Tumkur. The property with which the imbroglio is involved is said to be worth over Rs 20 crore. They say they had approached Tumkur SP, Bangalore city commissioner, DGP, home minister, state Women’s Commission, state Human Rights Commission, Lokayukta and Governor, to no avail. Then retired ACP Subbanna had said last year that he was not involved with the case and that his name was being dragged into the case unnecessarily.