Dalit artist abused and beaten? Serious allegations against Kannada culture department director, case filed under SC/ST Act!

Dalit artist alleges caste-specific abuse and assault for demanding remuneration that was pending for three years; FIR lodged with police.

Published on: 16 Jul 2025, 1:32 pm

Bengaluru: A case has been registered against Kannada language and culture department director KM Gayatri under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) following a complaint by a Dalit artiste who alleged that she used caste-specific slurs and behaved indecently when he demanded payment of dues.

This complaint was lodged by 55-year-old Jogila Siddaraju at SJ Park Police Station in Bengaluru. According to Siddaraju, he had gone to the director’s office to get the pending remuneration of a group of artists for the last three years. The complaint states that during the conversation, when the director came to know about his caste, the situation deteriorated.

Siddraju alleged that when he threatened to complain about the matter to higher authorities, Gayatri threw a computer mouse pad at him and also snatched the mobile phone of his colleague, who was trying to record the incident.

The complaint also said that the director used casteist slurs against her, which caused her humiliation and mental agony. The police have registered an FIR under several sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections of the BNS that deal with voluntarily causing hurt and insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace.

Police officials said a detailed investigation into the case is underway. Till the time of writing the news, there has been no public response from K.M. Gayathri.