On Ambedkar Jayanti, a Dalit family grieves
time I was seeing my sisters,” says Rahul (name changed) the 16-year-old brother of Sita (18) and Sunita (17) (both names changed).
The bodies of the girls, both first year students in a college in Neem Ka Thana area of Sikar were discovered on a railway track about 2 km from their house on April 5, the day they were allegedly assaulted.
“Both my mother and father were at work and after a while, I too had gone to Neem Ka Thana on April 5. Both Sita and Sunita were in the house at the time. When I returned after a while, I heard some commotion and the girls screaming for help,” Rahul told HT.
Rahul says he saw three upper caste men from his village inside the room with his sisters.
“The clothes of my sisters were torn and the three men were without their shirts. After Sita told me that the boys had assaulted them I tried to catch them. Two ran away but I managed to hold one named Vicky. But he overpowered me and escaped,” says Rahul.
The teenager ran after the men, leaving his sisters behind. Soon after, the mangled lifeless bodies of the two girls were found on the railway tracks.
“I want justice for my daughters. The police didn’t register the FIR for one whole day and when they did, the section for rape wasn’t used. I am being intimidated by the upper caste people of my village,” says Pooranmal. His elder daughter Rajni (name changed), who is pursuing MA in English has become a recluse, not venturing out of the house.
Of the three accused, Bajrang Lal and Vicky Singh are Rajputs, while Kanaram is a Brahmin.
“From my small shop in the village, I saw the men running away from the house on the morning of April 5 and the boy chasing them,” says Omprakash, a village shopkeeper.
Another villager, Jograj Singh, claims that he too saw the men scurrying away from the locality. Activists allege inaction by the police in arresting the accused.
“They initially registered the case under section 306 (abetment to suicide). It was only after our protests and meeting with senior police officials that section 376D (gangrape) and sections of the SC/ST Act were included,” says activist Kailash Meena.
However, the police haven’t included the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in spite of the fact that one of the girls was a minor.
Neem Ka Thana Dy SP, Kushal Singh, the investigating officer in the case, told HT that the men can be arrested only after the forensic report arrives.
“The accused men have said in their statement that the girls had called them and after checking call details we have verified this fact. They have said that when the brother of the girl reached the house, he confronted the men and a scuffle ensued after which they escaped,” said Singh.
Singh added that only if semen is found in the vaginal swab, the men could be arrested. The police have collected the clothes that the girls were wearing at the time of the suicide but haven’t taken any evidence or DNA samples from the accused.
“The police didn’t even let us bring the bodies to our home. They took them straight to the cremation ground and also threatened to put us in a lock up if we protested,” said Sumit (name changed), the eldest son.