Tension prevailed outside the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) on Sunday as villagers of Jainapur in Jewargi taluk in Kalaburagi district blocked the road and staged a protest carrying a body for more than six hours, demanding the suspension of the police officer responsible for the death of a three-year-old girl Bharati.
The agitators blocked the busy Sedam Road for a couple of hours; later they completely blocked the road for two-way traffic when people from Jewargi taluk gathered at the protest site in the evening.
As many as 10 members, including Ravi Talwar and his wife, Sangeeta, were arrested after a group of people lodged a complaint against 22 members due to a clash that erupted while celebrating the victory of gram panchayat elections on December 31, 2020.
Sangeeta and her three-year-old daughter spent two days in the police station. The agitators said that Jewargi Sub-Inspector Manjunath and policemen assaulted all the 10 members. Along with Ravi Talwar and Sangeeta, the police also thrashed their three-year-old daughter due to which she fell ill and was taken to GIMS Hospital where she breathed her last on Saturday night.
Jewargi MLA Ajay Singh, Kalaburagi North MLA Kaneez Fatima, the former MLA B.R. Patil, the former MLC Allamprabhu Patil joined the protest and demanded that the Police Sub-Inspector [Manjunath] be suspended immediately. They also demanded that the government release ₹ 25 lakh compensation to the bereaved family.
