The Kodagu District Farmers’ Association staged a protest in front of the District Superintendent of Police’s office, alleging that Kodagu farmers travelling to peacefully protest against the Bidadi Township project had been illegally arrested and condemning the police action.
Farmers’ Association leaders and farmers who arrived from various parts of the district staged a protest and expressed strong dissatisfaction with the police action.
Farmers’ Association District President Kadyamada Manu Somayya said farmers had been arrested only in Kodagu and alleged that “unseen hands” were behind the action. He demanded that the Superintendent of Police provide a clarification on the matter.
He said the police had insulted the farming community by arresting farmers who were on their way to participate in a peaceful protest. The farmers arrested at the Kodagu border should have been produced before a court, he said. Instead, they were allegedly kept in wedding halls and police stations until evening. He said the impact of such treatment on the minds of the arrested farmers, their families and children could not be imagined and expressed dissatisfaction, stating that such behaviour by the police could not be tolerated.
Dinesh, a leader of the Somwarpet Farmers’ Association, accused the police of violating the human rights of the farmers by arresting them.
Farmer leader Saraguru Nagaraj said Kodagu farmers had travelled to Bidadi to protest against the Bidadi Township project. However, he alleged that the police had arrested the farmers as though they were criminals and kept them in a marriage hall and police station. He said Bidadi farmers were struggling to make a living and that supporting their struggle was not a crime. He demanded that the police cooperate with such democratic struggles.
Responding to the allegations, Superintendent of Police R.N. Bindumani said the farmers had been stopped at the border and taken into custody as a precautionary measure. She said the police had followed an order issued by their superiors. She clarified that a copy of the order could not be displayed in public, but could be obtained through appropriate legal means if required.
Responding to this, Manu Somayya said the farmers’ association would obtain a copy of the order through legal means. He said the association had conducted several protests in the past, but there had never been an attempt to stop or arrest farmers. He called for the practice of arresting farmers during peaceful protests to be discontinued and appealed to the police to support the farmers’ protest.
Prominent persons including Sujay Bopaiah, Roy Madappa, Suresh Chakravarthy, Koothi Hoovaiah, Alemada Manjunath, trade union leader P.R. Bharath, Shivanna from Periyapatna, Lokesh Raje Urs from Mysuru and office-bearers of farmers’ organisations from various places participated in the protest.
