Five Held in India’s Karnataka for Asking Dalit Family to Pay Fine After Entering Temple

According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau, crimes against Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) spiked between 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

Five people, including a priest, have been taken into police custody in an Indian village for allegedly asking a Dalit family to pay a fine of INR 25,000 ($338) for entering a temple and another INR 11,000 ($148) for sanitising it. The incident occurred in the Miyapura village of Karnataka state's Koppal District.

The police told media on Wednesday that a case had been filed in Kushtagi Police station against the five accused under the various sections of the Indian Penal Code and under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act (SC/ST Act).

Police said that a villager called Chandrashekhar from the Channadasara Community was asked on Tuesday by the upper-caste villagers to pay the fine after his four-year-old son entered the Anjaneya Temple on his birthday.

Later, Social Welfare Assistant Director Balachandra filed a complaint and the police took the accused -- Kanakappa Poojari, Hanuma Gowda, Gavi Siddappa Myageri, Virupaksha Gowda Myageri and Sharana Gowda -- into custody.