Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)
Bantwal, Jul 21: A gang comprising of 50 youngsters forcibly entered the house belonging to a Christian family in Atikarabail in Vittal Mudnoor village near here at midnight on Sunday July 20 and assaulted and injured three inmates of the house.
The family’s reluctance to part with additional land for the road is said to be the reason for the attack. In a complaint filed with the police, some of the assaulters have been named as Chandrashekhar, Ganesh Shetty, Dayanand Shetty, Anil Shetty, Prabhakar Shetty, Krishna Nalike, Vithal Poojary and Diwakar Shetty. Cyril Veigas, wife Mabel Veigas and son Sunil Veigas bore the brunt of the gang's fury, as the gang members armed with lethal weapons hit them with vengeance, injuring them badly. It is said that when the injured tried to get out of the house for treatment, the gang members pelted stones at them, forcing them to be confined to their house. The gang members are also said to have blocked the policemen from coming to the family's rescue.
Mabel Veigas has sustained grievous injuries and is being treated at a private hospital in Vittal. The gang is also said to have destroyed a wire fencing the family had erected around its property, inflicting losses to the tune of Rs 15,000.
When a public road was laid about three years ago, Cyril Veigas had given away his land for the purpose and also had put in efforts towards constructing a minor bridge on the road. Mabel Veigas had participated in 'Janata Darshan' mass contact programme of the then chief minister Kumaraswami and played an important role in getting grant for the said minor bridge.
The family erected fencing for its remaining property, but some local persons asked the family to give up more land for the road. The family was not agreeable for this demand. When Cyril Veigas was erecting the fence in the afternoon on Saturday July 19, the gram panchayat president had expressed his displeasure. A complaint was also filed at the police station against this activity.