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.<br />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.<br />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.
