DK dist office of Human Rights Protection Foundation opened

Dr Ravindranath Shanbhogue, Founder, Basrur Consumer Forum and Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi, said he will not be taking new cases, owing to health reasons.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Dakshina Kannada district office of the Human Rights Protection Foundation at Ashok Nagar in Mangaluru on Sunday.

Stating that there are 1,600 pending cases with him to be solved, Shanbhogue said the forum and the foundation will continue under the leadership of Shashidhar Shetty, Sanjiva Kabaka, Dinesh Bhat, Ashok Bhat and others.

However, he will be providing guidance, Shanbhogue said and expressed his willingness to write articles for the rest of his life. He has plans to publish eight of his books.

He stressed that the credibility the forum and foundation have achieved needs to be maintained.

So far, the forum has handled 41,000 cases, out of which 38,000 have been solved and taken to the logical end. Of these, 99% were controversial. But, the forum was not mired in controversies as the cases were solved amicably.

“We have been acting under Constitutional principles,” he said.

He further said that till 1992, there were only consumers’ issues and cases related to electricity board, telephone and lack of services in the revenue department. Later, cases regarding human rights violations and human trafficking poured in.

'Shivarama Karanth had taken DIG to task'

Recalling his association with Jnanapith laureate K Shivarama Karanth, Dr Ravindranath referred to the case where the then DIG Revanasiddaiah and DySP Nadumani were taken to task by Karanth.

Following a theft case in the house of an influential politician, the police personnel in Kundapur followed ‘Anjana Jyotishya’, a ritual to get clues about the accused. Two innocent persons were arrested and were ‘interrogated’.

Later, it was learnt that the culprits were totally different persons. However, due to the ‘police interrogation’, the condition of the arrested had turned critical. The victims approached the forum.

Shivarama Karanth lambasted the DIG and DySP who later expressed their lamentations for following an unscientific method and promised that such incidents will not be repeated. The case led to the organising of police janasamparka meets, said Shanbhogue.

Dr Ravindranath’s spouse Vidya Shanbhogue, foundation legal advisors Vidya Bhat, Jinendra Kumar, Jayashree, social activists Sanjiva, Ashok Bhat and others were present.