Dalit girls burnt, colony says were a shame
Sweta Dutta Posted online: Tue Dec 21 2010, 08:30 hrs
Moradabad : An eerie silence envelops the narrow, dimly lit bylanes of
Kothiwal Nagar in Moradabad. Neighbours peek through windows and drawn
curtains as a heavy police deployment guards the only 'Valmiki' house.
Two young Dalit girls were allegedly burnt alive by an irate mob
inside this house in broad daylight on Saturday as their widowed
mother wailed in an adjacent room.
Geeta (25) and Neetu (22) had dreaded going out of home since December
9, when their brothers, Rakesh and Rajesh, were accused of killing a
local trader's wife and eight-year-old daughter. The neighbourhood
near Ek Minar Masjid in Kothiwal Nagar, a predominantly traders'
locality, reacted strongly to the killing and after Rajesh went
missing, targeted the girls and their mother, humiliating and
threatening to kill them.
Rajkali, the girls' mother, says the neighbours even attacked the
house on December 11 and threatened to kill them if Rajesh wasn't
found soon. Two policemen were stationed right in front of the house,
but reportedly couldn't prevent the mob attack on December 18. Rajkali
was locked up before the girls were allegedly assaulted.
"We had begged the police to protect us. We even asked them to put us
all behind bars. At least we would have been safe. My young daughters
were brutally killed while I kept screaming for help," a distraught
Rajkali told The Indian Express.
Since Sunday the mother has sought refuge with the Valmiki community,
staying where the rest of the community lives.
Geeta and Neetu were the youngest of seven siblings — five sisters and
two brothers. Modest girls, they had never received an education. The
sons, like others of their age in the Valmiki community here, collect
garbage in their neighbourhoods to earn a living. They had no criminal
record.
The neighbours, however, claim the girls committed suicide, and that
the family has shamed them all. As an elderly woman walking past the
house complains "living here has become difficult", the corner
departmental store owner talks about his slack business over the past
week. "Either the police come over in large numbers or the Valmiki
community blocks the lanes in protest. I have had to keep the shop
closed for three days and even now people rarely come out of their
houses."
Neighbour Kishor Sharma denies the possibility of a mob killing. "The
girls committed suicide because of the humiliation they had to bear
after their brothers got involved in theft and murder. If they were
set on fire and killed, wouldn't the entire room be up in flames?"
Sharma says.
"It is said that the boys killed the trader's wife and daughter
brutally and looted the house. They had left a bag in the adjacent
shop, which had four cellphones belonging to the trader, Pankaj
Gagneja, which was later handed over to the police. While Rakesh was
nabbed by the police, Rajesh is still absconding. In fact he came back
to his house to clean the bloodstains after the murder and his family
knows where he is," the neighbour adds.
While the police too initially said they suspected suicide, a case has
been registered against Gagneja and seven others for murder and under
various sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Against SC/STs Act.
Says Ashok Kumar Singh, DIG, Moradabad: "A case has been registered
based on the mother's statement. However, no evidence has been found
so far against the accused. Also the postmortem report states that the
death was caused due to burning and no other injuries."
Since Sunday the Valmiki community, that has over 1,400 safai
karamcharis working for the Nagar Nigam Moradabad, has called an
indefinite strike, seeking for immediate arrests in the case.
Vinod Bikal, advocate and a senior member of the Valmiki Samaj, says:
"We want a fair judicial probe. The police refused to lodge an FIR and
it was only after the postmortem yesterday that they filed a report.
If they wanted, the girls could have been saved."
She had no personal problems with the neighbours, Rajkali adds. "They
wanted us to move out of the locality because we were the only Dalits
there."
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