NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JAN 10
A crime data reported that Gujarat tops with 16 per cent rape cases against the national average of 2.4 per cent. Most of the rape victims in Gujarat are from lower-caste like Dalits, says the report.
A body of 19-year-old Dalit woman was found hanging from a banyan tree in Saira village in Gujarat’s Modasa on January 5.
The family alleged that the police authorities didn’t register an FIR when they had first approached on January 1, soon after the woman went missing.
“When she went missing, her father went to file a complaint, but the police did not accept it. They did not file the rape FIR till two days after the body was found,” said the woman’s aunt.
She had gone to Modasa with her sister but didn’t return. Later, the sister revealed that a man named Bimal Bharwad lifted the woman on to his car and asked her to keep quiet about it. The CCTV footage of a cooperative running mill corroborated this claim.
The car seen in the footage was found to be registered in the name of Bimal’s father Bharat Bharwad.
Bimal told the woman’s family that the car was taken by three of his friends, Darshan Bharwad, Satish Bharwad and Jigar.
On January 3, inspector at the Modasa police station N.K. Rabari informed the woman’s family that she had married a man from her community and would come back. However, the very next day, Rabari said that he didn’t have any jurisdiction in the matter and asked the family to approach Sabalpur police station.
On January 5, a priest in the village informed about a woman hanging from the tree who was later identified by the woman’s grandfather.
On January 7, the woman’s grandfather registered an FIR against Bimal and his three friends accusing them of gang-rape and murder.
Her body was brought to the Ahmedabad civil hospital on Tuesday. The family has refused to accept her body until the accused are arrested and Rabari is suspended for neglecting his duty.
“The protesters met me and sought a copy of the post mortem report. We have conveyed their sentiments to the relevant police authorities. Meanwhile, a panel postmortem was conducted at the hospital on Wednesday,” said the superintendent at the hospital Gunvant Rathod.
Activists have also demanded the arrest of the accused in the matter. “We have two demands. The perpetrators of this horrific crime should be arrested and the police inspector should be suspended for his actions. Only then will the family accept the body,” said Kirti Rathod, a Dalit activist.
Meanwhile, KK Ojha, additional DGP (ADGP) of the SC/ST Cell in Gujarat, have assured the protesters that action will be taken against the accused. “We have asked local police deputy superintendent to arrest the accused as soon as possible. Meanwhile, we have initiated a departmental inquiry to see if there was indeed negligence on part of the police in this matter,” said Ojha.
Relatives accept 19-yr-old’s body
The body of the 19-year-old Dalit girl who was found hanging from a banyan tree in Saira village of Modasa was laid to rest on Thursday, almost four days later. The family members agreed to take the body, which had been kept at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, on Thursday morning, a day after massive protests demanding arrests of four persons accused of abducting, raping and murdering her.
According to Dalit activists, members of the community advised the family to take the body as their own condition had been deteriorating since they were in shock right from the time the body was found. They had hardly eaten anything since January 1 when she sent missing. All the gathered persons who had been protesting all day on Wednesday dispersed after the body was taken.
Meanwhile, the Aravalli police are yet to make any arrests. They have not yet been able to locate the accused in the case, including Bimal Bharwad, son of the owner of the car, as well as his three friends, Darshan Bharwad, Satish Bharwad and Jigar.
Speaking on this, Inspector General Mayanksinh Chavda said, “Police are trying to catch the accused but have had no luck so far. We are also conducting a departmental probe into the alleged lapses by local police in filing an FIR in the matter.”
Acting upon a complaint by local activists, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) also sought a detailed report into the matter from the police department.
Communities rally behind accused
Members of the Maldhari and Thakor communities came out in support of the accused, taking out a rally to the collector’s office and submitting a memorandum to him and SP Mayur Patil. They alleged that the girl’s father and relatives demanded money from them on January 3. The memorandum went on to say that relatives of the girl are making efforts to defame men of Kshatriya and Bharwad communities. They also demanded a judicial enquiry in the matter and claimed that the primary investigation has revealed no injury marks on the girl’s body.
