The New Indian Express on 16th July 2017 carried a report that three members of a Dalit family died within 15 days in Gokarna district, due to starvation. It was further stated in the report that the deceased possessed BPL cards but did not get ration since April, as they did not have Aadhaar numbers, however, the District Commissioner denied that the death was caused due to starvation and said that excessive consumption of Alcohol by the three victims was the reason for the deaths.
Based on information provided in the News print pointing to a discrepancy regarding the deaths between the statements by the family members of deceased on the one hand and of the District Commissioner, on the other hand, a PUCL fact-finding investigation was conducted by Mr. Narasimhappa, a member of PUCL-Bangalore on 29 July 2017.
