Bidadi Police Book Farmers for Attempt to Murder After Clash in Mandalahalli
The Bidadi police have registered two First Information Reports (FIRs), including charges of attempt to murder, against protesting farmers and their leaders following a violent clash in Mandalahalli, Bidadi, on Monday.
The clash occurred when officials from the Greater Bengaluru Development Authority (GBDA) attempted to conduct a Joint Measurement Committee survey for the proposed Greater Bengaluru Township Project, commonly known as the Bidadi Township Project.
According to the police, the face-off began when women farmers intercepted the survey officials and demanded to see the order authorizing the survey. GBDA officials maintained that they had only planned to survey lands whose owners had already given permission for the project.
The FIRs state that the protesters abused the officials and attacked them with brooms and stones, injuring several officers. The first FIR was registered based on a complaint by the driver who transported the survey team. The second FIR was filed by Murali, an inspector with the Ramanagara Rural police station, who alleged that the farmers injured and attempted to kill him and the surveyors.
Following the incident, the police invoked several stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These include Section 109(1) (attempt to murder), Section 189 (unlawful assembly), Section 126(2) (wrongful restraint), Section 132 (assault to deter a public servant from discharging duty), and Section 74 (assault with intent to outrage a woman's modesty).
R. Srinivas Gowda, Superintendent of Police for Bengaluru South, warned that attacks on government officials performing their duties would not be tolerated.
In response to the police action, farmers staged a protest at Bairamangala village on Tuesday. Bhagya, one of the protesting farmers, stated that they had been protesting peacefully for over 480 days and blamed the violence on the officials' attempts to impose the survey.
Yashavantha T., State general secretary of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS), claimed his name was falsely included in the FIR to create fear. He stated he was traveling on a train to Delhi during the incident and shared his train ticket as proof.
Meanwhile, N. Ravi Kumar, Chief Whip of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, called the incident an atrocity against the farmers. He urged the State government to release a comprehensive white paper on the Bidadi Township Project, including details on government land, private land acquisition, and cattle grazing areas.
