POSTED ON FEBRUARY 21, 2022
The body of a 35-year-old Dalit woman, who was raped, abandoned and found in a critical state six days later, was shifted in the early hours of Sunday from Jaipur to her native village in Nagaur district amid heavy police presence.
Her family members, who have been refusing to cremate her body for the past three days demanding Rs 50 lakh and government jobs for her children, said the body was moved forcibly from the mortuary in Jaipur.
Geegraj Jodli, a Dalit activist who was with the family at the time, said: “Around 3 am, 200-300 jawans held us forcibly and moved the body. Police were barbaric.”
Late on Sunday night, the Nagaur district administration said an agreement had been reached with the family and the protest called off. “It has been agreed that the investigation will be done under the monitoring of the ADG Crime and the family will be given a financial package as per the provisions of the SC/ST Act,” Nagaur district collector Peeyush Samariya said.
Jodli said the body will be handed over to the family and the cremation was likely on Monday.
Nagaur SP Ram Moorty Joshi said they had to deploy a big force to move the body due to the tension surrounding the protests. On acting in the wee hours, police sources said they wanted to avoid a sustained dharna in Jaipur.
The BJP has been protesting against the Ashok Gehlot government over the incident, and claimed the involvement of “politically influential people”. On Saturday, the family said a local Congress worker of Nagaur district, Aaydan Ram Dara, was involved.
Two Nagaur police officials were earlier suspended for failing to do enough to locate the woman, including through use of her call details.
The Nagaur police has arrested a Dalit, identified as Suresh Meghwal, and detained a juvenile for the rape and murder of the woman, who went missing on February 4 and was rescued on February 10. She passed away in Jaipur on February 17, while undergoing treatment.
Police said Meghwal had raped the woman and then, with the help of his juvenile friend, strangled her, leaving her in the forest thinking she was dead. Police had termed her rescue a “miracle”.
The two accused have been booked for offences including gangrape. The juvenile has also been booked under sections of the SC/ST Act.
SP Joshi said they moved her body from Jaipur as part of “general procedure”. “When families refuse to take a body, it is transferred from Jaipur to the mortuary of the district concerned.”
Courtesy: Indian express
Note: This news piece was originally published in indianexpress.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Rights objectives.