After the gruesome murder of two Dalit men, Malliappa Talageri and son Vittal Talageri, in Karnataka’s Bagalkot district on October 15, their family has decided to stay indoors for the village festival that began on December 6. TNM had previously reported that three other male members of the family were allegedly threatened that they would be killed on the day the festival started in Shirol, their village in Mudhol taluk.

Read: A month after two Dalit men are murdered in Karnataka, family receives more threats

Responding to the death threats, Satyavva, whose husband and son were hacked to death, says, “We were such a big happy family, and now everything is destroyed. I’ve made all the men stay with us. I don’t want them to be outside, in danger. They are all staying indoors today. It’s a crowded situation (at the festival) and the blame could be shifted, if anything happens. Five people have been arrested, but eight are still walking free.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police, K Rajendra, claimed that things have gone back to normal.

“We have just concluded a peace committee meeting with them, and now everyone is at the festival. Things are peaceful," he said.

Satyavva, however, contradicted the DCP's claim and told TNM that she had no desire to go out on the day of the village festival. “What will I go out and celebrate? My husband and son were hacked to death. I have no face to show (to the rest of the village)," she said.

Some members of the family were in Bengaluru to meet with the Committee on the Welfare of SC and ST in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in the first week of December. At that time, they gave their version of events. After listening to them, the Council decided that they would hold the police officials responsible, and that the officers would face criminal action if there were any adverse consequences. N Mahesh, one of the members of the Committee, also said that the police were given strong warnings, and directed to provide police protection, to maintain law and order.

“The local sub-inspector of police, Lokesh Jagala, has said that he is putting into action 180 policemen on the ground on the day of the village festival," he said.

However, Yellappa Talageri, another son of Satyavva, also said that they won’t go to the festival. “We went out to offer some prayers last night, but that’s about it. There are three policemen who are with us at all times, so we have no fear," he said.

In October this year, Malliappa and Vittan were murdered just outside the village, allegedly by a group of dominant caste men from their village. This was days after the accused put up a Facebook post with pictures of them brandishing swords, captioned: "The final victory is ours." Five of the accused were arrested, but the other eight were not, and they reportedly move around freely in the village. The family of the murdered men was allegedly threatened last month, saying that three more male members of the family would be killed during the village festival.

The alleged motive behind the murders is caste rivalry. According to the Talageri family, their financial success and involvement in politics were resented by the dominant caste groups. They have alleged that the accused previously tried to intimidate them on the street. In March this year, the accused reportedly ransacked their homes, and verbally and physically harassed members of the family, both men and women. These instances resulted in cases against them under the SC ST (Prevention of) Atrocities Act. The accused were allegedly inflamed by these cases, and had issued threats to the family.