Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Apr 15: 

In a curious incident which happened in Ira village in the taluk on Saturday April 14, officials raided a house in the village when an engagement ceremony connected with marriage was in progress, and arrested the owner of the house. The officials, who were strictly enforcing election code of conduct, ensured that the arrested man was put behind the bars.

Steven D'Silva from Ira village was remanded to judicial custody and lodged in the district prison at Mangaluru on Saturday night relating to this incident.

The engagement ceremony of Steven's brother's daughter had been arranged to be held at Steven's home where both families live together, on Saturday afternoon. All arrangements were in place, and guests had begun to arrive since morning. Even as the family geared up for the ceremony, excise department officials raided the spot at about 9.30 am on Saturday and found during the search operations that liquor was stored in the house in excess of quantity permissible as per code of conduct rules. They registered case against Steven and arrested him. When he was produced in the court, his bail plea was rejected and as such, he was sent to jail.

Excise officials have said that even in case of private functions where purchase bills and receipts are maintained, no one can store liquor in excess of two litres. They stated that they found 16 litres of liquor including beer during the raid on Steven's house. Although Steven, and his elder brother who came from abroad for the function, explained to the officials that about 600 people had been invited for the function, and requested them not to create obstacles for the auspicious function, the officials did not pay heed, it is said. The officials, who were reportedly from Kolar, did not relent even after the local traditions and customs were explained to them, it is gathered.

Locals have expressed their resentment about such actions, pointing out that higher officials have been repeatedly saying that no permission is necessary for holding private functions. At the same time, restrictions of the above kind are being enforced, putting people into unwarranted hardships. They feel that if the people were properly educated about such rules, incidents of this kind would have been avoided.

Deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, Sasikanth Senthil, said that he cannot pass any comment about the incident as he was not aware of the details of the case as yet.

President of the taluk panchayat here, Chandrahas Karkera, felt that such incidents are happening as people in general do not have sufficient knowledge about the election code of conduct, and also as officials have failed to spread awareness about the rules properly. The police department also was not having information about this case as it was handled by excise department officials.

The incident has driven home the need for the people to acquaint themselves properly with the election code of conduct rules and abide by the rules in all seriousness.