Three Booked For Forcing Dalit Employee To Clean Manhole

Image Credit: The New Indian Express (Representative Image)

The Logical Indian Crew

Three Booked For Forcing Dalit Employee To Clean Manhole

Daivadeenam, a permanent employee for Chinmaya Hospital in Bengaluru for over 21 years, was asked to lower himself to clean the manhole. When he refused, he was threatened with termination of his services by the accused persons.

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Three staffers from Bengaluru's Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH) have been booked for allegedly forcing a 53-year-old Dalit man to lower down and unclog the sewers manually. Daivadeenam, the victim, belonged to the Mala caste and worked with the hospital for more than 21 years. When he declined to carry out the order, the three accused threatened him to terminate his services at the hospital. The housekeeping supervisors of the hospital, D Raja, Gilbert and the administrator, have been booked under relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Prohibition of Manual Scavenging and Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

'Duty To Perform Manual Scavenging': Accused

The Karnataka Samata Sainik Dal and Madhusudhana KN, Assistant Director at the Social Welfare Department, filed the complaint on behalf of the 53-year-old. Daivadeenam had to ultimately unclog the sewers, after which a police complaint was registered at the Halsuru Police Station. The victim alleged in his complaint that when he declined to carry out the task, the management said that "it was his duty to perform manual scavenging", the Times of India reported. Daivadeenam used to undertake such jobs in the past but was once spotted by a government official and let off with a warning.

Victim Was Refused Medical Attention

Kamala, a social worker at the Samata Sainik Dal, said that the victim had approached them for the first time on December 9. He had initially cited his old age and health concerns as the reasons for not getting into the manhole. Other housekeeping staff from the hospital also said that Daivadeenam was often tasked with cleaning the toilets and clearing the garbage. A former medical technician and the Joint Secretary of CMH hospital said that the victim developed breathing problems after being asked to unclog the sewers and sought medical attention. However, his request for treatment had been turned away by the authorities.

Also Read: An Inclusive Move! Karnataka Police Invites Application From Transgender Community

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