A hotel owner in Gutteganur village, Ballari, along with her relative Veerabhadrappa, has been taken into custody after they were accused of refusing service to a group of individuals from the Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
The incident, which occurred a few months ago, gained attention when a video of the discriminatory act went viral, prompting members of the SC community to protest. Subsequently, Nagaveni and Veerabhadrappa were booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
In the video, Nagaveni and Veerabhadrappa can be seen explicitly denying the SC group entry to their hotel and refusing to serve them food. Following the video’s circulation, the police took action based on the footage and statements recorded from the SC youth involved. A peace meeting, facilitated by the tahsildar and police officers, was conducted in the village to address the tensions.
According to a senior officer from the Kurugodu police station, the atrocity case was registered against Nagaveni and Veerabhadrappa, and further investigations are ongoing.
One of the complainants alleged that Nagaveni had a history of barring SCs and STs from entering her hotel, and even if they managed to enter, she would compel them to leave and subsequently clean the premises.
