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Days after Kannada lecturer and Dalit activist Holikunt Murthy was attacked and personally targeted with caste slurs over it, Controversial post on Chandrayaan 3The State Police registered an atrocity prevention case against seven individuals.
An FIR was registered on 17 July by Kamakshipaliya Police Station after a complaint from Murthy. The accused have been identified as Kalyan M, Sudharshan, Vikas Vicky, Mruntungaya Hirimath, Basu Nayak, Tumkuru Kesri, and others.
Murthy, who is a Kannada language lecturer at Po Government College Maliswaram, allegedly said in a Facebook post in Kannada: “Chandrayaan-3 will be a failure…” Using the phrase “Tirupati nama”, he implied that the moon mission would fail this time too. A team of ISRO scientists offered prayers at the Tirupati temple with a scale model of Chandrayaan 3 in Andhra Pradesh ahead of launch last Friday.
According to the FIR, Moorthy was targeted by hateful, sectarian and threatening messages on social media. His wife, Nanda Murthy, has also been drawn into the controversy. The FIR report stated that accused Vikas V Hindu called Moorthy a “treacherous pest”, Basu Naik threatened to kill Nanda Moorthy with his “pee-soaked slippers”, and a post by Tumkur Kesari likened his wife to a sex worker. The cops registered the case under various sections of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and IPC 1860 under Section 153B, 503, 506, 354(A)(4).
Speaking to Indian Express, Murthy said, “Myself and my wife have been bothering me and my wife over the turn of events since the last few days. I also learned about the scientific temperament. The fact that the scale model of Chandrayaan 3 was taken to a temple by ISRO scientists made me wonder about the scientific temperament of the people.” who are behind the project. Metaphorically, I wondered what would happen if the mission had failed even this time, just like last year. In hindsight, I feel I should have formulated my thoughts differently.”
The controversy escalated after BJP leader and former Education Minister Suresh Kumar wrote to the current Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, expressing concerns about the lecturer’s position. He described this as unhealthy, and also warned the lecturer against repeating this “irresponsible behavior”. The government also sent a notice to Murthy on Wednesday seeking clarification on the post. Murthy is expected to submit his response to the school education department on Friday.
Bahutva Karnataka, a civil rights organisation, condemned the attack on Moorthy and called on the Karnataka government to crack down on the miscreants who targeted him and his family with hateful, intimidating rhetoric and intimidation. In a letter to school minister Bangarappa, the group said, “The attacks against Moorthy have caused enormous psychological suffering to all those who benefit from the reservation as well. It shows that even after 75 years after independence, caste continues to divide and cause an attack on dignity.” These show Publications also claim that there is a complete lack of scientific temperament, rationality and even humanity. The group also called on the government to draw up a plan to ensure the development of scientific temperament, reason, humanity, and a spirit of inquiry and reform.
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