Rajasthani writer also returns award

Over 90 writers and intellectuals from West Bengal have written to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention in the Dadri lynching incident and recent attacks on rationalists even as Rajasthan writer Nand Bhardwaj returned his Sahitya Akademi award joining a list of over 30 authors protesting "growing intolerance".

In a related development, 17-year-old schoolgirl Ria <g data-gr-id="12">Vithasa</g> from Shimoga, Karnataka on Thursday said she is handing over her Bal Sahitya award as she was pained by the killing of noted writer MM Kalburgi from the state.

Meanwhile, Telugu writer Bhoopal Reddy said he has also decided to return his Sahitya Akademi award as a mark of protest against growing attacks on progressive-minded writers. We have seen how MM Kalburgi was killed due to lack of communal harmony. Nobody is arrested so far. There should be someone to say this,” Reddy told a news agency.