Police sub-inspector Mallikarjun Bande, who was admitted at Yashoda Super Speciality Hospital in Hyderabad after he was injured in the a shoot-out, breathed his last during the early hours of Wednesday.
The last rites of Bande will be performed at his native village of Khajuri on Thursday. Though all the preparations were done under the guidance of Alanda tahsildar Parameshwar to perform the rites on Wednesday itself, the state government decided to postpone by a day in order to provide
an opportunity for the citizens of Gulbarga and police personnel to pay their last respects to Bande, said home minister KJ George.
Bande, 39, sustained bullet wounds in his head during an encounter with wanted criminal Munna Darbadar on January 8. George announced a compensation of Rs15 lakh to the dependents of Bande. “The government will give financial support for the education of the two children of the deceased,” he said.
Tense prevailed in Gulbarga district as various organisations staged protests against the government for not airlifting Bande to London for better treatment. They also demanded an increase in the compensation from Rs15 lakh to Rs1 crore for the bereaved family.
Gulbarga superintendent of police Amit Singh said all measures have been taken to prevent any untoward incident in view of Bande’s death.
“As many as 15 platoons of KSRP and 10 district armed reserve police battalions have been deployed in Gulbarga and other sensitive areas, including Khajuri in Aland taluk, as a precautionary measure,” he stated.
However, Singh’s car was gheraoed by public, demanding him to handover the body to Bande to his family members. The protesters also alleged that the government neglected Bande’s wife Mallamma’s request to airlift her husband to Elizabeth Hospital in London, where iconic Pakistan schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai was treated after she was shot at in the heat by members of the Taliban.
Incidentally, Bande had undergone a surgery for removal of two bullets in his head at Basaveshwar hospital in Gulbarga before he was shifted to Yeshoda Hospital later.
Protesters take to the streets
Following the death of PSI Mallikarjun Bande, cities like Gulbarga, Bidar, Humanabad, Surpur and Alanda observed undeclared shutdown to express respect to the hero.
Villagers of Khajuri, native of Bande, expressed their ire over the delay in bringing his body to the village by torching a government bus on Wednesday.
The villagers said a pit was already dug-up for burying Bande and that it cannot be kept open through the night as per local customs.
“Had the government taken the decision in the morning itself, we would have dug the pit on Thursday morning. The government ignored the villagers and Bande’s relatives in taking the decision,” one of the villagers alleged.
The Gadag superintendent of police Sharanappa, who also hails from Khajuri, had to rush to the village to hold a meeting with the villagers in order to restore peace.
Even the people in Alanda, which is the native taluk headquarters, blocked roads and condemned the government’s move in handling the incident.
Various pro-Kannada organisations have also decided to hold protests against the government.
BJP calls for shutdown
Condemning the government’s delay in handling Bande’s failing health, the BJP called for a day’s bandh on Thursday in Gulbarga and Bidar districts.
Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa demanded for a higher compensation for the bereaved family and said the BLP would launch an agitation in Gulbarga on Thursday.
Villagers raise demands
The villagers of Khajuri put forth the following conditions before Gadag SP D Sharanappa:
Government should assign the case of Bande’s death to the CBI.
The compensation to Bande’s family must be raised to Rs1 crore from Rs15 lakh.
A bravery award must be conferred on Bande
They have warned that they won’t allow the last rites to be performed and continue the stir along with the Bande’s body if the demands are not met by the government
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