The “lambardars” (a term dating from colonial times to denote village elites) of Baraudiya Naunagir – the Thakurs – reportedly own 1000 bighas of land (~630 acres), and most labourers must work on their fields when called for. They dominate village proceedings and decision-making, their influence strengthened by their close familial ties to Khurai MLA, Bhupendra Singh. Bhupendra Singh is an influential BJP leader who has earlier been a cabinet minister in the Shivraj Singh government.

In contrast, Anjana’s family own about 3.5 acres of land. Her father, Raghuvir Ahirwar worked as a security guard in Pithampur, Dhar. Her brothers Vishnu and Nitin Ahirwar often migrated to find better work in cities, unlike others in the village who worked for the Thakurs as and when the lambardars demanded. Anjana was a bright second-year undergraduate student. At the time of her death she was 20 years old. She was leading her family’s struggle against the gruesome murders of her brother in 2023 and her uncle this year – but her struggle against the stifling dominance of the lambardars began back when she was just 15 years old.

What happened in Baraudiya Naunagir? 

In January 2019, Vishnu had returned to the village after working in Bhopal for two years.

“After working outside, I managed to earn much more than I could have in the village. I was wearing new clothes and new shoes that I had bought from the city, and they (the Thakurs) did not like it. They took me to the village market, slapped me in public and made me touch their feet,” he says.

Days after this, Anjana was allegedly assaulted and molested by Azad Thakur, Pushpendra Thakur, Chotu Raikwar, and Vishal Thakur. Anjana managed to get an FIR registered against the lambardars – however, sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act were not added, despite the oral complaint of molestation by the 15-year-old. A minor case related to assault and intimidation was registered, but no arrests were made.

However, there were material repercussions for Anjana’s family. “Since then, whenever a theft or crime happened in the village they would accuse us of it, in retaliation,” says Badi Bahu, Anjana’s mother.

She narrated an incident where Anjana’s younger brother Nitin, was illegally detained in police custody and beaten up.

“Lalu (Nitin) was working in Indore had returned to celebrate Holi. One evening, the police suddenly came to our house and took Lalu away, without telling us anything. He was kept at the police station for two-three days. When I tried to see him, the police would abuse me and send me away. When they released him, they threatened us, saying that if we tried to complain, Nitin would rot in jail for the rest of his life.”

Nitin was just 16 years old then, and had bruises on his feet when he was released. Badi Bahu submitted complaints to the Superintendent of Police, Sagar, and Inspector General of Police, Sagar, but no action was taken.

In August 2023, in another display of the lambardars’ hegemony, the family said that 18-year-old Nitin was brutally assaulted by the Thakurs and their men in the village market. Badi Bahu tried to protect him, but was attacked too – “When I arrived on the spot, lambardars and their men had surrounded Nitin, and were continuously beating him. I took him away from them, but they surrounded us again…When I tried to protect him, they beat me and disrobed me, and my arm was broken. Still, I tried to shield him, but they shoved me away, dragged him onto the road and mercilessly beat him with lathis.”

Komal Singh Thakur, Vikram Thakur, Azad Thakur, Ankit Singh Thakur, and other men who work for the Thakurs, beat him to death, the family said. Upon Anjana’s complaint, an FIR was registered against Vikram Thakur, Vijay Thakur, Azad Thakur, Komal Thakur, Lalu Khan, Islam Khan, Golu Soni, Nafees Khan, Wahid Khan and three or fourth other accused.

Despite multiple complaints made by Anjana, – the most important of which was submitted on August 25, 2023, the day after Nitin’s murder – naming Ankit Singh Thakur, a prominent local BJP leader as one of the main assailants, his name was not added in the FIR, the family said.

The said complaint also asked that police safeguard the CCTV footage obtained from the spot where Nitin was murdered – however, according to the police chargesheet, the DVR housing with the footage had been destroyed by the mob during the attack. The family did manage to obtain the footage – which shows the beginning of the assault, along with a number of people not named in the police chargesheet – however, the police have not taken cognisance of it.

While the police did arrest a number of people after Nitin’s death, one of the most prominent men in the village – Komal Singh Thakur – was arrested right before the chargesheet was presented in court.

On the day of the attack on Nitin, lambardars and their men attacked the homes of Nitin and Rajendra Ahirwar. Anjana and Nitin’s family had all of their belongings completely destroyed – their pet parrot was killed and a horse which they owned was injured, and ultimately died. None of these incidents made their way into the chargesheet. When questioned about the exclusion of these facts, including the incident of Badi Bahu being disrobed, the police denied that any such complaint was made.

Ramsevak Ahirwar, Rajendra’s father, was present when the mob forcibly entered his home. “Lambardars and their men entered our house, searching for Rajendra. When I told them he was not home, they beat me and injured my leg – I couldn’t walk for two months. They trashed our belongings too. I am telling you this – if they had found Rajendra that day, he would have been murdered too,” he said.

Rajendra was not afraid of anyone, his grandmother recalled. He was a key witness in Nitin’s murder case and was poised to depose against the Thakurs when the matter came up this year. Rajendra received constant threats from the Thakurs and their family members to turn hostile, and depose in favour of the Thakurs, but he always refused.

Weeks before he was to testify in Nitin’s murder trial, Rajendra was attacked with axes and lathis in the home of Pappu Rajak – an aide of the Thakurs. Critically injured, he was referred from the local Khurai hospital to Sagar district hospital and then to Bhopal, but he died on the way. The family also believes his treatment was delayed deliberately: he was sent from Khurai to Sagar – 52 kilometres away – at around 9 pm, but was only referred from Sagar to Bhopal (170 kms) by 2-3 am.

It was clear to Anjana and her family that Rajendra had been killed because of his refusal to testify in their favour; in one of her last statements to the media, she said, originally in Hindi:

“Uncle Rajendra was a witness in the 302-murder case. Israel Khan, whose sons Golu and Lalu Khan, who are in jail, threatened him (Rajendra) to turn hostile and testify in their favour in Nitin’s murder case, and threatened to kill him if he did not do so. Around 8:45 at night, I phoned my uncle, and heard a lot of commotion at the other end. Uncle said, ‘Anju, these people are beating me,’ he mentioned some names and said that a fight has broken out. Then they broke his mobile. I then called my uncle Mohan Ahirwar, his son Vikas Ahirwar and Machla, and they went to where Rajendra was. They said that Israel Khan, Ashiq Qureshi, Tantu Qureshi, Faheem Khan, and Bablu Khan were attacking Rajendra. We informed the police.

“We had reported threats against us, the police had registered an FIR, I don’t know what action they took. Ashiq Qureshi said that we will kill you, we will chop you to pieces, we will slit your throat to pieces for reporting against us, and that is what they did.If the government had demolished the houses of the accused in my brother’s murder, if proper action had been taken against them, Rajendra chacha would have been alive today, he would still be with us…”

After Rajendra’s post-mortem, Anjana, along with Rajendra’s parents – Ramsevak and Bhagwati Bai – were returning to their village with Rajendra’s body, accompanied by a policeman. However, Anjana mysteriously fell out of the ambulance, eventually succumbing to the injuries from the fall.

Anjana’s death, the very next day after the brutal murder of Rajendra – along with the fact that she was the complainant in Nitin’s murder and a key witness in the murder of Nitin and Rajendra created waves across the state.

Congress leader Digivijaya Singh, claimed that Rajendra and Anjana were witnesses to Nitin’s murder and did not succumb to the pressure of the lambardars, which is why they were killed. State Congress chief Jitu Patwari claimed that they would approach the high court to get a CBI enquiry initiated in the matter.

Meanwhile, MLA Bhupendra Singh tried to downplay and trivialise the matter of Rajendra’s murder as a mere conflict between two parties, going as far as to accuse Anjana’s family of criminal tendencies, he said: “Anjana Ahirwar’s deceased relative had a criminal background…According to police records, Rajendra Ahirwar terrorised the village and was involved in criminal activities at the behest of Imran Khan.”

He said, “Congress politicises deaths. The mastermind of the Baraudiya Naunagir case is Imran Khan. Imran was the one who made the deceased’s family commit all these crimes. Imran has murder cases against him. People here are troubled by his terror. Imran has used the deceased’s family.”

He said that the entire CDR of this case should be extracted. “Those who have instigated that girl should be charged”.

It must be noted here that Imran had earlier been associated with the BJP as well. In fact, Bhupendra Singh himself has sent a letter to Imran in 2017, congratulating him on being chosen as the BJP Khurai Grameen Alpsankhyak Mandal chief. But a few years ago, there was a rift.

Bhupendra Singh had previously met the family after Nitin’s murder too. When Anjana asked him bulldoze the homes of the accused, the then Minister of Urban Housing and Development said, “What is the basis for demolishing houses? Fights, disputes and murders happen every day…which law allows us to demolish houses? In case of a crime like rape, or if it is the house of some mafia, meaning if a heinous crime has been committed, only then we demolish houses. Legally we cannot demolish houses. Now the high court has put a stay on it as well…Consider that 10 people live in a house. If one of them is an accused, then what is the crime of the other nine? The house belongs to the 10 does it not? Legally we cannot demolish houses.”

Afterwards, the family was told to stop pursuing the matter of Nitin’s murder and was handed a typed “press statement” to be made to the press, stating that “the family was satisfied with administration’s actions.” However, Anjana refused to make such a statement. The family was repeatedly pressurised to compromise, but Anjana continued her pursuit of justice, going as far as the high court to oppose the bail of the accused in Nitin’s murder. The family has also accused Bhupendra Singh of offering them Rs two crore to stop their pursuit of the matter.

Police investigation: Guided by political interests?

MLA Bhupendra Singh’s words were echoed by the police when the fact-finding team met them. Police were eager to state that Rajendra and Nitin were of “aapraadhik pravritti” (criminal tendencies). The fact that Nitin, a child of a Dalit family of labourers, who was barely 18 at the time of his death was already termed as a habitual offender speaks volumes about Sagar police.

In July, the fact-finding team released its report, which reiterated the need for a CBI enquiry in the matter, as demanded by the family. It also pointed out the implicit bias that had characterised police action since Anjana’s very first complaint in 2019, and questioned its ability to conduct an impartial investigation in the matter, when it was clearly unable to fend off political intrusion into the investigation. Renewed public interest in the matter was quickly ‘dealt with’, as the police hurriedly completed its’ investigation into Anjana’s death by concluding that she jumped out of the ambulance of her own accord.

The family have flatly refused to accept police’s conclusion. Anjana’s mother, Badi Bahu has repeatedly asserted, “My daughter was bravely fighting for justice for Lalu (Nitin). She was prepared to fight all the way to the Supreme Court, how can she have given up her own life?”

Ramsevak Ahirwar, who was in the vehicle with Anjana when she allegedly fell, has repeatedly told the media that both he and his wife, Bhagwati bai were not conscious when Anjana’s fall took place – in direct contrast with the statement in police investigation, where he is said to have “seen Anjana open the gate and jump out of the vehicle.”

Members of the team sought to confirm Ramsevak’s version on three separate visits, which remained unchanged; neither he nor his wife were conscious to see what happened with Anjana – “If she was to jump in front of me, wouldn’t I have stopped her? I would have caught her…She was our daughter too! She was fighting for justice for all of us!” He then goes on to say, “When they were taking Anjana to the hospital, they took my wife, who is unable to hear or speak properly. They did not allow me to accompany her, otherwise I would have talked to her myself.”

All other statements of independent witnesses the police rely on have no mention of Anjana jumping out of the vehicle on her own accord. Whereas all family members unequivocally state that it was the Thakurs who had her killed.

In her last complaint, made exactly three months before her death, Anjana spoke against the constant threats she and her family were receiving from the relatives of the lambardars in prison. Anjana complained that they threatened to frame Vishnu in false charges and make him leave Sagar. Two months later, on May 3, 2024, the District Collector passed an order, externing Vishnu from Sagar district.

She also complained that the lambardars had threatened to kill more of their family members too. Two of the chief witnesses in Nitin’s murder are now dead – Rajendra was murdered, and Anjana died the very next day.

On the recommendation of Sagar Police the investigation into Anjana’s death has been closed by the SDM at Khurai. For the families of the youths who have lost their lives, there is no closure. However, Anjana’s mother remains steadfast, “We will continue to seek justice for Nitin and Anjana till our last breaths.”

Nitin Varghese works with Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, a community-led people’s organisation in south-west Madhya Pradesh.