Mangaluru: The prolonged hunger strike of T G Rajaram Bhat, owner of Amruthadhara Gaushala in Kairangala, Konaje, and his staff, following the theft of a cow from their gaushala, has caused the Congress party to suspect the authenticity of the incident.
Pointing out that the hunger strike has gone on even after the two accused of the crime were arrested, A C Vinayaraj, President, Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee Legal and Human Rights Department, in his address to the media on April 9, alluded to the possibility that the incident was staged and the chaos is backed by the BJP for political agendas.
Vinayaraj, while acknowledging Rajaram Bhat’s right to stage a protest, questioned the need for Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to make communally charged and inappropriate speeches at the gaushala. He also questioned the role of the watchman who apparently fought off the thieves. Vinayaraj asked why the watchman did not try to call for help or why he did not assist the cops in making sketches of the thieves.
Giving more reasons for their suspicion, Vinayaraj, referring to Rajaram Bhat’s insistence that the two who were arrested were not the real perpetrators, asked how Bhat was so certain about his claims.
A cow was stolen from a gaushala on March 29, soon after which, the staff and members of the gaushala staged an indefinite hunger strike in order to press the police to take quick action, arrest the perpetrators and ensure that such incidences never occur again.
Many, including some right wing organisations, offered their support to the cause. The Mangaluru City sleuths were swift and on April 4, two people were arrested for the crime.
Rajaram Bhat ended the protest on April 9 by consuming milk in the presence of Sri Vishwesha Teertha and RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat.
