Bengaluru: Police arrest 9 after complaints filed against "insensitive" casteist skit

The police have arrested seven students from Jain University's Centre for Management Studies (CMS) in Bengaluru for the skit that reportedly insulted Dr BR Ambedkar
Screengrab from the video of the skit performed by Jain College students | Pic: Twitter
Screengrab from the video of the skit performed by Jain College students | Pic: Twitter

Following the objections raised by Dalit organisations and student groups against a skit that defamed Dr BR Ambedkar, the Karnataka Police arrested nine people, including the principal and seven students of Jain University's Centre for Management Studies (CMS) in Bengaluru.

According to a report by IANS, Dr Dinesh Nilkant, the Principal from Jain (Deemed-to-be) University and seven students pursuing their fifth semester in the BBA course and the controversial event's programme coordinator have been arrested, said the police on Tuesday, February 14.

The Dalit organisations have given a bandh call for today, Tuesday, in protest. The controversial skit was played at the campus during the 'MadAds' competition of Jain University Youth Fest 8.

After the arrest, the accused were presented before the court and remanded to judicial custody for four days. The accused were booked under IPC Section 153 A for creating enmity between different groups and SC, ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act).

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The university issued an unconditional apology for the development and stated that the university does not approve of certain words used against Ambedkar and Dalits.

Karnataka Congress had raised concern over the incident of casteist slur being used in a skit performed during the college fest in Bengaluru. The party mentioned the video from Jain College on its social media handle and claimed that it contains abusive and objectionable content on Dr BR Ambedkar and Dalit communities. "The police should take cognisance of the incident and initiate legal action," the Congress demanded.

The skit was performed by a group of students called The Delroys Boys, who tendered an unconditional apology for the presentation. However, the debate over the issue is rising.

How the word about the skit spread
The incident came to light after a group of students published an online petition on Jhatkaa.org. The petition stated the college contingent from Jain University's Centre for Management Studies (CMS) staged an "incredibly casteist and insensitive" skit at the event.

The anonymous petitioners objected to the normalisation of caste discrimination under the pretext of humour. The skit was performed as part of MadAds, a segment at the fest where the participants had to advertise imaginary products along lines of humour, according to IANS.

The Delroys Boys, the theatre group from CMS, who are in the thick of controversy, in their skit, exhibited a man belonging to the lower caste attempting to date an upper caste woman.

Akshay Bansode, a State Member of the Vanchit Bahujan Yuva Aghadi has also filed a police complaint in Maharashtra under provisions of the Atrocity Act and IPC. The complainant had urged the police to treat the complaint as FIR and initiate action against the performers and the university.

Sources told IANS that the controversial skit was performed on other platforms as well. The Delroys Boys maintained that they apologise "for their mistake" and to everyone they have "spoken badly about", reported IANS.

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