17-year-old Siddappa had died on January 25 after entering a sewage pit while contractor Marianna who went in to save him died four days later.
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It has been close to two months since two men died in an alleged manual scavenging case in Bengaluru but the city police are yet to nab several of the accused persons, despite the sessions court denying them anticipatory bail. On January 25, 17-year-old Siddappa, who was made to enter a sewage pit at the SSBS Jain Sangh Trust near Infantry Road, died due to asphyxiation. Marianna, the contractor who hired Siddappa to clean the pit, who went in to help Siddappa died at Bowring Hospital on January 29. Doctors at Bowring had told TNM that both Siddappa and Marianna’s lungs were filled with sewage. The manager of the trust, Trilok Chand Kataria, was arrested on January 27 and sent to judicial custody. Six members of the trust were booked under section 304A (b) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). The accused – Lal Chand Mandoth, S Sampath Raj Mandoth, P Sudarshan Mandoth, Prakash Chand Mandoth, S Ditin Kumar Porwal and Kishore Kumar Gadia – applied for anticipatory bail on January 27 soon after Trilok was arrested. The sessions court denied them bail on February 15. Sampath Raj Mandoth was arrested on February 22 after much pressure from members of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, the police said. However, the rest of the accused have still not been arrested by the Commercial Street Police, who are investigating the case. The accused filed an appeal in the Karnataka High Court and the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday. Narasimha Murthy, a lawyer representing the victims and the complainant in the case, filed objections to the bail petition. The High Court directed the kin of the victims to respond to the objections filed by Murthy and posted the matter for Friday. Speaking to TNM, lawyer Narasimha Murthy said, “In manual scavenging cases, the police book the accused under 304A (criminal negligence) which is punishable by two years. This time, the police have registered an FIR under 304A(b) and so far none of the members of the trust have been arrested. We object to them getting bail.” Speaking to TNM, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Sharanappa told TNM that the accused are absconding and that no arrests have been made as they are uncertain whether the pit that Siddappa went to clean constitutes a manhole. “The investigating officers have sent letters to BWSSB (Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board) and BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike). The Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act has certain definitions of what a manhole is. The one in the SSBS Jain Sangh Trust was an old well that was being used as a rainwater harvesting pit. We have asked the agencies to inspect the place and give us a report on whether the trust violated any norms and were ejecting sewage into the pit. That’s why we have not arrested them yet. Also, they are absconding,” DCP Sharanappa added.
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