Some upper-caste Hindus drained drinking water from a mini-tank in Heggotara village in the Indian state of Karnataka and “cleaned it” with gomutra (cow urine) after a Dalit woman drank water from the tank.
The incident occurred during a wedding of Dalit couple at the village. The bride’s relatives had arrived at the village for the ceremony. After consuming food, they were walking towards the bus stand when one of the women drank water from the tank.
An upper caste-Hindu man from the area called others and they all berated the woman for sullying the water in the tank.
After the woman left the village, the residents of Lingayat Beedhi opened the taps of the tank, released all the water, and “cleaned” it with gomutra (cow urine).
Karnataka police have filed an FIR against a man in connection with the incident, police said.
The police action followed a complaint lodged by Giriyappa, a Dalit from the same village.
The revenue inspector and village accountant con-ducted a spot inspection and confirmed the incident. The officials later submitted a report to the tehsil-dar.—INP
