On the eve of Republic Day, 19-year-old Siddappa choked to death while cleaning a manhole, despite a law criminalising it in 2013. His contractor, Marianna, who tried to save him is now critical.
Several protested against his death due to manual scavenging and demanded that an FIR be registered against the SSBS Jain Singh Trust which hired the 19-year-old.
Siddappa belonged to the Adi Karnataka community, which is a scheduled caste, yet no FIR has been registered under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.