Customer denied glass, water poured into cupped hands; Karnataka hotel owner booked

Raichur, Karnataka: A hotel owner in Raichur district has been booked for allegedly practising untouchability after a video surfaced showing him pouring drinking water into a customer’s cupped hands instead of handing him a glass, officials said.

The incident reportedly took place in Echanal village of Lingasugur taluk around three months ago. The video emerged on social media recently, following which officials visited the village and police registered a case.

Lingasugur police have booked hotel owner Shivappa and others under Section 3(1)(za)(D) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, and Section 4 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. An investigation is underway.

In February, relatives of a retired Dalit army serviceman alleged that shops and hotels in Chinnapur village of Ilkal taluk in Bagalkot district closed their shutters when they arrived for his last rites.

Hanumantappa Harijan, 55, belonged to the Holeya community, which is listed under the Scheduled Castes. He had served in the army for 20 years before retiring.

The alleged incident took place on February 25, when relatives arrived in the village for his funeral. According to The Hindu, the relatives claimed that shopkeepers and hotel owners shut their establishments after learning that Dalits had come to the village to attend the last rites.

In one reported instance, a shopkeeper allegedly refused to accept a soft drink bottle from a relative before pulling down the shutter, citing lunch break. The incident reportedly triggered an uproar in the village.