Relatives lynch Dalit widow in Rajasthan
KHAP FINES THE ACCUSED, BOTH GIRLS, ₹2,500 EACH, A TRACTOR FULL OF CATTLE FODDER, FIVE TANKERS OF WATER AND ONE SACK OF VEGGIES
KEKRI (AJMER): Kekri (Ajmer) A motley group of people sit as silent spectators, shooting furtive glances at strangers who enter the Regar mohalla, a settlement of 200 Dalit families in Ajmer, Rajasthan.
Occasionally, they gaze at the snaking lane in front of them, where a 40-year-old mother-oftwo was stripped naked and paraded after being branded as a witch on the night of August 2.
Kanya Devi died the next day in Kadera village, her broken body bearing mute testament to the torture that she went through, which are too inhuman to be detailed here.
“We haven’t seen anything. We sleep early after coming back from work,” is all that neighbours say, when asked.
The police action taken in the case reflects the numerous cons of a flawed system. The FIR of the case was registered on Sunday against four people. The accused include two teenaged girls, an acquaintance and a man who was the nephew of Devi’s husband.
A notice saying that Chitar Regar’s family is below poverty level is painted on the entrance of a house in which the two siblings mourn the loss of both their parents within a month.
“I was called on the morning of August 3 and after reaching Devi’s home, I found that she was grievously injured. Upon enquiring, the family of her husband’s elder brother told me she fell on the oven while preparing tea,” said Uttam Kumar Mirdha, a local compounder.
By the time news reached Maya, Kanya Devi’s daughter, she had already passed away. What followed was a hurried funeral and a meeting of a khap panchayat, which imposed a fine on the accused for their crimes.
“I saw injuries all over the body of my mother. Even her eyes were burnt and there were extensive burn injuries on her legs thighs and other parts of the body, “Maya told HT.
Radheshyam Regar, another relative, told HT that no clear reason behind her death was given to them by the accused. At the time of HT’s visit, none of the accused was found at home.
“Both the girls who are accused in the incident were fined ₹2,500 each and also asked to give a tractor full of fodder for cow, five tankers of water and one sack of vegetable,” Rahul (name changed), the 15-year-old son of Kanya Devi, told HT.
Rahul was witness to the entire act of his mother being assaulted but couldn’t do anything after being threatened. Two of the accused are his cousins.
“The Khap Panchayat decided that no police action will be taken in the matter after the fine was paid,” said Rahul.
This is a blatant example of how the administration is unwilling to take action in such a serious matter. A woman is paraded naked, tortured and killed but yet no one is arrested for the crime,” activist Tara Ahluwalia told HT.