As the country takes to the streets in justified fury over the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old woman doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024, two recent cases of rape involving minor Dalit girls in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been met with a deafening silence. These brutal crimes, reported after the Kolkata tragedy, have failed to ignite the same level of public outrage.

This glaring disparity forces us to confront a disturbing truth: Where is the outrage when the victims are Dalit women? Why is their suffering met with indifference? This is a shameful reflection of how deeply entrenched casteism and discrimination remain in our society.

Bihar: Minor Dalit girl abducted, gang-raped and killed

An unprecedented low in Bihar’s deteriorating law and order situation was reportedly reached when a 14-year-old Dalit girl was kidnapped from her home, gang-raped, and killed in the Muzaffarpur district. The girl, a Class IX dropout, was forcibly taken away on the night of August 11 from her house in Paroo police station area in the presence of her parents. On the morning of August 12, a Monday, her body was discovered in a pond, partially nude. Her body was covered in several wounds and bloodstains, and she had her mouth taped shut.

Speaking to the media, the girl’s mother spoke about the incident by stating “Five persons, including a person called Sanjay Rai, abducted my daughter on Sunday night threatening to rape her. We could do nothing out of fear. We found her body next morning in a pond outside our village”. The mother of the minor deceased girl said that accused Rai, who was already married, had been harassing her daughter to get married to him. “He threatened to kill her when we refused,” she said.

Satyahindi.com carried reports of the murder-rape in Muzaffarpur rightly focussing on it along with the Bengal crime.

A 14-year-old #Dalit girl was allegedly abducted from her house, gang-raped and killed in #Muzaffarpur district, marking a new low in the deteriorating law and order situation in #Bihar.

The girl, a Class IX dropout, was forcibly taken away on Sunday night from her house in… pic.twitter.com/TagrRklWUk

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) August 15, 2024

The enraged locals have threatened to stage a protest at the Paroo police station and use road blockades in the event that the offenders are not apprehended promptly. As per the information provided on social media, an FIR has been registered against the five accused. As per the media coverage, Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar has stated that “Injuries from a sharp weapon have been found on the dead girl’s neck, head and palms. We have collected evidence with the help of a forensic team and the dog squad. A khurpi (small gardening spade) used in the murder has been recovered. Raids are being conducted to arrest the accused”. The police said they would not be able to confirm the gang rape till they received the post-mortem report.

It is essential to note that no mainstream media has covered this news.

Minor Dalit girl raped by government official

On August 12, a 57-year-old government official was arrested for allegedly raping a 6-year-old Dalit girl in her home in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. The accused, Gajendra Singh, who served as an Agriculture Development Officer, has been arrested and suspended from his position.

The rape has been alleged to have taken place when the parents of the victims were not at home. The accused took advantage of the absence of adults, and allegedly entered the victim’s home while she was playing with a neighbour’s child. The neighbour’s child recorded the horrific act on their mobile phone. As per a report of Maktoob Media, the victim’s father, who is a Dalit farmer, narrated the incident by providing that “My daughter, who opened the door, told him not to come in as there was no one else in the house. The kid goat was tied to a pole. The incident took place around 5 pm. Singh had visited our house previously for work. On Monday, he didn’t listen to my daughter and instead sat down on the charpai.”

The Dalit farmer “My daughter will never be able to live a normal life now? He (accused) should be given the strictest punishment,” he added.

A complaint was filed with the police the following morning. The accused is charged with sexually assaulting the minor girl and then engaging in bestiality with a goat on the property. According to police, Singh has been charged under several serious laws based on the complaint filed. These include the SC/ST Atrocities Prevention Act, the POCSO Act, Section 65(2) of the Indian Penal Code (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

After the incident came to light, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, took serious cognizance of the matter and accused official has been suspended, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated. Additionally, the state government has announced financial assistance of 8.25 lakh for the victim’s family under various schemes.

The Maktoob Media report states that the Chief Minister has directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Bulandshahr and the District Magistrate to visit the village, offer support to the victim’s family, and oversee the investigation.

It is crucial to note that the victim is currently stable and undergoing medical examinations. Speaking to the media, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Shlok Kumar, has confirmed the arrest of the accused and stated that a thorough investigation is underway.

No outrage on sexual violence against Dalit women?

Violence against Dalit women often remain underreported in mainstream media due to deeply entrenched caste biases and systemic discrimination in society. The media in India, which is often dominated by upper-caste narratives, tends to marginalise issues affecting the Dalit community. This bias is compounded by a lack of representation of Dalits in media organisations, which leads to a skewed focus on issues affecting more privileged groups. As a result, the horrific violence faced by Dalit women is frequently overlooked or minimised, failing to receive the attention it deserves. This exclusion from mainstream discourse perpetuates their vulnerability and invisibility.

The absence of widespread protests against violence targeting Dalit women is closely tied to the caste-based social hierarchy that continues to shape societal responses to injustice. In many cases, the dominant caste groups have significant influence over political and social institutions, including law enforcement, which discourages or suppresses public outcry. Additionally, there is often a lack of solidarity from other marginalised groups, who might not fully recognise the intersecting oppressions faced by Dalit women. The pervasive apathy and normalisation of caste-based violence create an environment where atrocities against Dalit women are met with silence rather than the collective outrage that might be seen in cases involving more socially privileged groups.

Related:

India’s cry for justice: The brutal Kolkata rape-murder of a young doctor has ignited nationwide protests on the eve of the 78th Independence’s Day

India’s flawed rape laws: a betrayal of equality

Horrifying instances of rape in MP and Mahrashtra, accused booked under POCSO

The post Caste and Indifference: Two separate incidents of rape against minor Dalit girls in UP and Bihar receive no media coverage, protest or outrage appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The victim’s uncle, 24 year old Rajendra Ahirwar was beaten to death, reports suggest it happened due to ‘old feuds’.

In August 2023, Sabrang India has covered how Anjana Ahirwar, who had filed an FIR stating that her brother Nitin Ahirwar was beaten and killed on August 24, 2023, by the same people who had harassed her in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar. Her brother’s death had led to protests, including a sit-in protest by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh in Barodia Nonagir village. Her family had claimed that they had been constantly pressured and threatened to take back a complaint of harassment that the victim had reportedly filed. After she refused to take back the complaint, the attackers came to her house and beat the family, including the brother, up. Their mother was also attacked as she tried to save her son and the attackers even attempted to disrobe her. The mother had told the police that it was the Thakurs who had attacked them and they had connections to members of local governance such as the panchayat and the parshad.

Similarly, according to journalist Anil Tiwari, the accused is a BJP Leader.

Ramita Ahirawar, aged 22 (name changed), filed a case of sexual assault against Komal Singh and his associates in 2019. The accused exerted pressure on her family to retract the case. In July 2020, when the Dalit family refused to withdraw the case, Komal Singh Thakur, a BJP…

— Anil Tiwari (@Anil_Kumar_ti) May 27, 2024

According to Additional Superintendent of Police Lokesh Sinha, Anjana fell from the ambulance while carrying the body of Rajendra Ahirwar to their village after the postmortem in Sagar. Sinha has stated that an investigation is going on.

Recently, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh met with the family, and urged to the media that the district administration must be held accountable and changed, “I’m highly disappointed with the District Admin, who not only failed to protect the family but also didn’t fulfil the promises made in August 2023.” Singh also expressed sadness at her death, stating that she was an educated woman taking care of her family. Singh has claimed that the accused have been receiving political protection.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has called out the BJP, “The people of BJP are after the Constitution because they do not want that women of the country, Dalits, tribals and backward people should live with dignity, nor their complaints heard anywhere.” The Congress party too has decried the incident and has accused the BJP of shielding the accused.

मध्य प्रदेश में BJP का जंगलराज

पहले BJP के नेताओं ने एक दलित लड़की का यौन उत्पीड़न किया और फिर उसे धमकाते रहे कि ये बात किसी से मत कहना।

डरी-सहमी लड़की ने ये बात अपने परिवार को बताई और फिर तमाम मशक्कत के बाद FIR हुई।

इसके बाद से BJP के नेता दलित परिवार पर समझौते का दबाव बनाने… pic.twitter.com/kGLFO6zmKD

— Congress (@INCIndia) May 27, 2024

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The accused reportedly took the victim to a temple in Sikar after he promised to marry her. The accused, according to a report by Times of India, are from Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly.

They reportedly tried to blackmail the girl by making a video of the incident.

The victim had gotten to know the accused over Instagram where they had spoken and consequently become friends. There onward, the accused tried to get her to elope with him for marriage. She left her home one day taking jewellery and 18000 rupees in cash with her. She was met with two of his friends at the bus stand, and after that they all travelled together to Rajasthan. According to her, she was repeatedly assaulted and raped in a rented room after she reached Rajasthan.

The incident had taken place on December 31st, however, an FIR (First Information Report) was filed on March 1st. SHO Ajay Kumar stated on March 2 that the accused will be soon arrested.

Similarly, in Patna, two minor Mahadalit girls were raped in Bihar’s Patna. One of them, an eight year old, succumbed to her injuries and died. The accused have been arrested. The families had told the police that both of the girls had gone out together to gather cow dung cakes one day but soon failed to return home. In January, a family member of one of the victims stated that one of the minors’ bodies was discovered by locals the following day after which the police investigation started.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) there has been a rise in the number of reported incidents of rape against Dalit women. There was a surge of about 45 percent in reported cases of rapes from 2015 to 2020. Furthermore, the records show that on an average about 10 incidents of rape against Dalit women and girls are reported daily in India. What is even more disconcerting is that, as per the reports by human rights organisations, the cases that are reported represent only a small number of the true number of incidents occurring.

Related:

January 2024: Alarming surge in attacks targeting Dalit women 

Chennai: Dalit man hacked to death by in-laws due to caste

Dalit groom attacked, threatened, and beaten off a horse at his wedding in Gujarat

Dalits attacked by upper castes at Buddha Katha ceremony in Kanpur

Unveiling hidden divides: caste, gender and the myth of Indian growth

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The postmortem report of the bodies of the two Dalit sisters who were found dead in a Lakhimpur Kheri village on Wednesday, confirms their family’s suspicion that they were sexually assaulted before being killed, reported News 18. The channel said, that the autopsy report accessed by it “confirms rape and strangulation of victims.” The Scroll reports that according to the postmortem report, the sisters died “due to asphyxia as a result of antemortem strangulation.”

The sisters’ bodies had been discovered hanging from a tree on Wednesday. The girls were minors aged 15 and 17. Their parents had alleged that they had been abducted and raped before murder. Indian Express had quoted their mother as saying, “I went inside the house for some work. On return, I saw three youths forcibly taking away my daughters on a motorcycle. I ran after the motorcycle but failed to catch them.” A local villager discovered the bodies hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field in Tamoleen Purva village, located about half a kilometer from their home.

Villagers had also held a protest on Wednesday evening in the Nighasen area after the bodies were discovered. The case brought back memories of both, the Hathras case where a Dalit teenager was raped in a field, and the 2014 Badaun case where bodies of two Dalit girls were discovered hanging from a tree.

So far, six persons have been arrested. Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Suman revealed their names at a press conference on Thursday evening – Chotu, Junaid, Sohail, Hafizul, Karimuddin and Arif. According to India Today, the accused have been booked under IPC sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 452 (house trespass for assault), 376 (rape) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. India Today reports that five out of the six were remanded to 14 days judicial custody on Friday. Junaid, who had tried to escape and was caught after being shot in the leg by the police, will be presented before the court later.

NDTV reported that according to the police, Chotu was not involved directly in the crime, but was their neighbour and had introduced the girls to the assailants. But the police have contradicted the family’s abduction claims and say that the girls went willingly with Sohail and Junaid, who then sexually assaulted them in the sugarcane field. The publication quoted the SP as saying, “The girls were raped in the fields. When they insisted that the men marry them, the men strangled them with their dupattas.” Hafizul allegedly helped strangle and kill the girls. “Then they called Karimuddin and Arif for help with covering up the crime. They hung the bodies from the tree to make it look like suicide,” he added.

News 18 reports that the bodies of the girls were buried in a field near their home late on Thursday evening as the community does not cremate minors. The family members had initially refused to perform their last rites until their demands of a compensation of Rs 1 crore, a government job for the girls’ brother, and death penalty for the accused, were fulfilled. The family has been assured of a trial in a fast-track court.

Related:

Lakhimpur Kheri: Bodies of two sisters found hanging from a tree

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In a shocking incident that is reminiscent of not one but two previous instances of Dalit girls being victimized, the bodies of two sisters hailing from a Scheduled Caste were found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur district. Though sexual assault has not been confirmed so far, as the autopsy reports are still awaited, Jagran reports that the family has alleged that the girls were abducted and raped before being killed.

The case is thus being compared to the Hathras case.

2. यह घटना यूपी में कानून-व्यवस्था व महिला सुरक्षा आदि के मामले में सरकार के दावों की जबर्दस्त पोल खोलती है। हाथरस सहित ऐसे जघन्य अपराधों के मामलों में ज्यादातर लीपापोती होने से ही अपराधी बेखौफ हैं। यूपी सरकार अपनी नीति, कार्यप्रणाली व प्राथमिकताओं में आवश्यक सुधार करे। 2/2

— Mayawati (@Mayawati) September 15, 2022

निघासन पुलिस थाना क्षेत्र में 2 दलित बहनों को अगवा करने के बाद उनकी हत्या और उसके बाद पुलिस पर पिता का ये आरोप बेहद गंभीर है कि बिना पंचनामा और सहमति के उनका पोस्टमार्टम किया गया।

लखीमपुर में किसानों के बाद अब दलितों की हत्या ‘हाथरस की बेटी’ हत्याकांड की जघन्य पुनरावृत्ति है। pic.twitter.com/gFmea4bAUc

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) September 14, 2022

It is also similar to the Badaun case where the bodies of two Dalit girls were found hanging from a tree in May 2014. In that case too, the girls were minors.

What happened in Lakhimpur Kheri?

The incident took place in the Nighasan area of Lakhimpur Kheri on Wednesday. According to Jagran, the girls were aged 14 and 17, and were thus minors. Indian Express reports that a local villager discovered the bodies hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field in Tamoleen Purva village, located about half a kilometer from their home. Following this the family of the girls and angry villagers blocked roads demanding justice for the girls. The family of the girls has alleged that the girls were abducted three hours before their bodies were discovered.

The mother told media persons that she was sitting outside the house with the two girls at around 2 P.M. The publication quoted the girls’ mother as saying, “I went inside the house for some work. On return, I saw three youths forcibly taking away my daughters on a motorcycle. I ran after the motorcycle but failed to catch them.”

Four people have been arrested in connection with the case so far. Additional SP Arun Kumar Singh told the publication, “Four accused in the matter have been taken into custody. Interrogation is underway.”

However, India Today reports that the number of arrests has gone up to six. According to the publication, the girls were being pressured to marry two of the accused, who then raped them with four other accomplices.

Uttar Pradesh’s track record w.r.t crimes against people from Scheduled Castes

The incident has sent shockwaves across the state where crimes against Dalits have been on the rise. According to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest rates of crimes against people hailing from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes. In 2019, UP reported 11,829 cases out of the total national figure of 45,961, thus accounting for over 25 percent of all crimes against people hailing from Scheduled Castes in India.

Shockingly, even a deadly global pandemic like Covid could not bring the numbers down, because as per NCRB’s data for 2020, out of the 50,291 cases of crimes against people from Scheduled Castes, 12,714 were recorded from Uttar Pradesh. This once again accounts for over a quarter of all crimes against SCs across India.

According to the latest report titled Crime In India 2021, while the national figure for cases of crimes against people hailing from Scheduled Castes stands at 50,900, the number of cases reported from Uttar Pradesh stands at 13,146. Again, Uttar Pradesh accounts for over 25 percent of all crimes against people from Scheduled Castes in the country.

Related:

Uttar Pradesh: Headmaster allegedly throws hot meal on Dalit girl, burns her arm
Uttar Pradesh: Teacher allegedly breaks Dalit girl’s hand
9-year-old Dalit boy dies after teacher allegedly thrashes him; cops deny “caste angle”
Madhya Pradesh: 13-year-old Dalit rape survivor allegedly beaten by police
Mutilated body of girl found hanging from tree in Sultanpur, Badaun 2.0?

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The body of a Dalit teenager who had gone to get fodder, was found dumped in the wheat fields near her village on Sunday, February 28. This is yet another brutal crime in Uttar Pradesh, in the wake of scores of similar attacks, but has so far not made it to the mainstream national news reportage or TV discussions.

थाना अकराबाद क्षेत्रान्तर्गत घटित घटना में मृतिका के शव को पोस्टमार्टम हेतु भेजा गया, परिजनों की तहरीर के आधार पर सुसंगत धाराओं में अभियोग पंजीकृत कराया जा रहा है । घटना के शीघ्र अनावरण हेतु 05 टीमें गठित, के सम्बन्ध में @sspaligarh श्री मुनिराज जी द्वारा दी गई #बाइट#Aligarh pic.twitter.com/xHjbqtGhiO

— ALIGARH POLICE (@aligarhpolice) February 28, 2021

According to the Uttar Pradesh police, the teenager had reportedly gone to cut grass for fodder and had not returned home as usual by evening. The police have confirmed that she has been murdered, and her body was found later that evening. According to the Amar Ujala, it is being suspected that the teenager may have also been sexually assaulted. A case is being filed and evidence is being compiled with the help of the forensic team, said Muniraj, SSP, Aligarh police, adding that the police started the search as soon as they received information. The body has been sent for postmortem. The teenager lived with her maternal grandmother, an aged widow, in a village in the Akrabad area of Aligarh.

This crime reportedly occurred on Sunday afternoon when she had gone to get fodder. However, according to a report in the Amar Ujala, once her body was found, anger and unrest swept through her village, and locals reportedly insisted that the police reveal the culprit’s names before they ‘allow the body to be taken away’. According to the news reports the villagers held protest demonstrations and allegedly lighting bonfires in front of police vehicles and also allegedly pelted stones. According to the news report Gangiri Kotwal Pramendra Singh was injured as a result. However the villagers eventually let the police take the body for postmortem at around 10:30 PM on Sunday.

The teenager had lived with her elderly grandmother since childhood, and reportedly called her ‘Mummy’. According to the old woman, her granddaughter went to get fodder from the fields around twelve noon on Sunday. But she did not return for a long time and the old woman went to look, she later called some villagers to help search for the teenager. By evening her body was found dumped in a wheat field about 500 meters away from the family’s farm, stated the report. It added that the teen may have been strangled to death, perhaps following sexual assault. By the time the police including SSP Muniraj and the forensic team reached, the angry villagers had gathered there, and a confrontation reportedly ensued.

Here is a detailed analysis of the complex hierarchies of caste and apathetic state machinery, which are a vulgar display of India’s contempt towards women, especially Dalits. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data of 2019, all States barring the Union Territories recorded 3,91,601 cases of crimes against women and Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 59,853 cases. From 2015 to 2017, Uttar Pradesh had the greatest number of atrocities registered against Dalits, with an accelerating trend of 8,357 in 2015, 10,426 in 2016 and 11,444 in 2017.

While further information is still awaited on this case, here is a look at the rise in horrific crimes against women and children, particularly those from the Dalit community, here are some attacks that were reported in 2021:

February 24, Hapur: Three men arrested for sexually assaulting a working woman

Uttar Pradesh police arrested the three men on February 27, 2021 morning for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on February 24 night in Pilkhuwa area of Hapur district, around 70 km away from Delhi. The survivor  approached the nearest police station to lodge a complaint after the attack; media reports say police delayed action. The accused Ankit Tomar, Akash Tomar and Aakil, who sustained bullet injuries while trying to escape. According to Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sarvesh Mishra, the accused admitted to committing similar crimes a month ago. Accused Ankit was also jailed in 2013 for sexual assault. The men said they targeted working girls and women who returned home late at night.

February 17, Unnao: Dalit girls found tied up in fields; 2 were dead, 1 was critical 

They had been poisoned. On February 17, late evening, media reports surfaced of an incident in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, that three Dalit girls were found with their hands and legs tied in the field. While two of them were found dead, the third one was taken to the District hospital and is undergoing treatment. The incident occurred in Babura village, Asoha police station area. The family members say that the girls had gone to the fields in the afternoon to fetch fodder for the cattle and did not return until late evening. Then they went looking for them in the fields and found them tied up in their field. The doctor went on record to say that the one girl who was brought to the hospital was gasping for breath and there were indications that she was poisoned. 

January 3, Budaun: Woman allegedly gang raped, brutalised inside temple 

Victim succumbed to her injuries; police booked a priest and two disciples, and the local SHO was suspended. The 50-year-old woman  had gone to offer prayers at the temple on Sunday, January 3. She was allegedly gang-raped and brutalised in the temple compound and died of her injuries. According to news reports the woman’s son said the temple priest along with two others had come to the woman’s house with her body and left. When asked, the priest said the woman had fallen into a well and on hearing her cries for help, he along with two others went towards the well. The accused priest and two disciples were arrested and booked under IPC sections 376-d (gang-rape) and 302 (murder) at the Ughaiti police station.The woman’s post-mortem report has confirmed rape, injury in her private parts, and fracture in her legs. 

Related:

Unnao: Dalit girls found tied up in fields; 2 dead, 1 critical

Unnao rape case: Kuldeep Singh Sengar convicted

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Uttar Pradesh: 19-year-old woman allegedly gang-raped when returning from Navratri event

Uttar Pradesh records highest crimes against Dalits: NCRB

It has shocked our conscience: Allahabad HC takes cognisance of Hathras incident

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On February 17, late evening, media reports surfaced of an incident in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, that three Dalit girls were found with their hands and legs tied in the field. While two of them were found dead, the third one was taken to the District hospital and is undergoing treatment. The incident occurred in Babura village, Asoha police station area.

The family members say that the girls had gone to the fields in the afternoon to fetch fodder for the cattle and did not return until late evening. Then they went looking for them in the fields and found them tied up in their field.

The doctor went on record to say that the one girl who was brought to the hospital was gasping for breath and there were indications that she was poisoned. The doctor further said that it appears that there is brain damage and has low chances of survival.

The District Magistrate reached the hospital to assess the situation and senior cops including IG and DIG Lucknow range reached the spot after being alerted. “The three girls were found in an unconscious state in their own field. Of them, two have died while one has been referred to the district hospital for treatment. Initial investigations suggest it is a case of poisoning. Statements of people are being recorded and the case is being investigated,” Superintendent of Police Unnao said.

थाना असोहा क्षेत्रांतर्गत ग्राम बबुरहा में दो मृत एवं एक बेहोश लड़की मिलने के संदर्भ में SP उन्नाव द्वारा दी गई बाइट @Uppolice @dgpup @adgzonelucknow @Igrangelucknow pic.twitter.com/03y8H6gP0W

— UNNAO POLICE (@unnaopolice) February 17, 2021

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One of the most important Dalit rights moment has been unfolding in the national capital over the past few weeks. Yet it seems to have been swept under the carpet, even ignored by the massive press corps working out of the capital, and as days go by threatens to be forgotten quickly.

On October 4, a 17-year-old Dalit girl was found dead, hanging from the roof of a room she lived in at the home where she worked as a houshelp. According to her family, she was allegedly raped and killed. However, the Police state it is a case of siocice, there is no foul play, and a false narrative is being created. The two points are scarily similar to the Hathras horror. However, the big difference here is the stunning silence, from the mainstream media, local and national politicians, who live and work in the city. Not a murmur even as her family also alleges that the victim was cremated hastily by the Police. The Delhi Police, in its part has firmly stated that the teen committed suicide and was cremated by her own family. This is the media statement issued by Delhi Police over twitter: 

Press note on suicide by a girl in jurisdiction of PS Model Town @DelhiPolice @CPDelhi pic.twitter.com/6AYPNdq6kw

— DCP North West Delhi (@DCPNWestDelhi) October 17, 2020

However, no one seems to be asking, why the teenager from Bihar, working as a househelp had committed suicide in the first place. It is obvious that she is not a popular upper caste film star whose death would warrant multiple news reports, live TV telecasts and public mobilisation demanding justice. All that has not even helped the poor Hathras family yet. However, this teenaged migrant worker may just be another forgotten statistic, her family alleges that when they demanded a First Information Report (FIR) be registered, they were detained and thrashed. A reporter who did go to investigate was also beaten up. Delhi Police has firmly denied both allegations. 

And if it was not for an alert group of Delhi University Student unions, the unnatural death of this  Dalit teenager, in the National Capital Delhi would still have been missed by everyone. After the 17-year-old Dalit girl was found dead  in the Model Town area of North Delhi, none of the political leaders who had made a beeline for over a month to visit Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, which reported a similar crime, seem to have noticed either. Not even the Aam Aadmi Party, currently running the Delhi Government. 

The Delhi Police, however, is under the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whose office, and official house is also in Delhi. The National Commission for Women is also in Delhi. That there is no word from Smriti Z Irani who is the Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development,  is not surprising, as she has not yet commented on the Hathras rape and murder of a Dalit teenager, or the multiple cases of rape and harrasement reported from Uttar Pradesh, and other parts of the country.  In fact, all Members of Parliament representing Delhi are from the Bharatiya Janata Party, none of them have made a statement on the Model Town victim. 

The family alleged that the teen was “brutally raped to death” in the house where she has been working as a maid for around 10 days, this was only reported by the portal Asian Speaks. According to the portal, the victim hails from Bihar had  been employed at the Model Town house where she reportedly faced severe mental and physcal torture The portal reported that the young girl was forced to sleep in the driver’s room and when she tried to inform her relatives, she was restrained and threatened by the employer’s wife. 

It added that the victim’s aunt had received a phone call from the girl just one hour before she was allegedly fatally attacked. It was reported that the teen was allegedly ‘raped and was found hanged to death in the drivers room’. The Police has ruled out murder, and said the post mortem report by the team of doctors at safdarjung said cause of death is “asphyxia, as a result of ante mortem hanging” and appears to be “suicicdal in nature”. The police statement does not mention if the post mortem report ruled out rape.

Then the big question still remains: Why did a 17-year-old Dalit girl working as a housemaid hang herself? 

The family has also alleged that they were not allowed to see her at first, but they persevered and managed to see the dead body of their child finally on October 8, for a brief while. The Police “allowed the family to briefly view the body after the postmortem” but then the family has alleged that the cops “forcefully took it away and cremated it” without their consent. According to them the teenager was cremated “in the presence of approximately 300 police officials”. 

The Delhi Police has stated that it was the victim’s family who “cremated her at the Wazirpur cremation ground” and added that “no foul play has come to notice so far in the investigation.”  On October 16, the victim’s family staged a protest at the Model Town police station. They were reportetly joined by student union members, the police is said to have taken into custody, around 10 people including the Caravan reporter and the relatives of the Dalit girl, and allegedly thrashed them up. The Police state that the group was flooding Covid-19 protocol, and trying to change the “narrative” of the case.  This was the story that the Caravan reporter was following up, when he too was beaten up on Friday.  

Those allegedly beaten by the police include five women (two relatives of the Dalit girl, and three activists) and five men, who were activists of BSCEM and DSU and as well the reporter from Caravan. As journalist Ahan Penkar, the Caravan staffer, alleged that he was kicked & slapped by Delhi Police ACP Ajay Kumar inside the Model Town station premises, in North Delhi.

Today afternoon, Delhi Police assaulted @thecaravanindia’s staffer Ahan Penkar while he was reporting. ACP Ajay Kumar kicked & slapped Penkar inside the Model Town station premises. Penkar repeatedly told the police that he was a journalist and prominently displayed his press ID. pic.twitter.com/n26nCftN54

— The Caravan (@thecaravanindia) October 16, 2020

Political Editor Hartosh Singh Bal had confirmed that “the reporter wasn’t the only person to be beaten up by Ajay Kumar at the site. Two other persons were also attacked, while a constable and two inspectors watched. “One of them was a Sikh. The ACP took off his turban and beat him. He stepped on the neck of the second man.”

the reporter wasn’t the only person to be beaten up by Ajay Kumar at the site. Two other persons were also attacked, while a constable and and two inspectors watched. “One of them was a Sikh. The ACP took off his turban and beat him. He stepped on the neck of the second man.”

— Hartosh Singh Bal (@HartoshSinghBal) October 16, 2020

Acording to the only news report filed, the the Dalit teenagers family members will continuing seeking an FIR and to ensure action is taken against the Delhi Police personnel. 

The Delhi University Student organisations issued this joint statement:

A 17 year old Dalit girl from Rajpura GurhMandi who was working as a domestic worker at a house in Model Town was found dead in the employer’s house on October 4th. The family has alleged rape and murder of the victim by the employer’s son and driver. The family has stated that the girl attempted speaking to her aunt just hours before her death only to be interrupted by the landlady. Later, the family was called and after a heated exchange with the police, were briefly allowed to see the body of the girl who was found hanging from the ceiling of the drivers room. 

The body was later whisked away without disclosure of any details about the whereabouts of the body. It was finally on October 8th, that the police allowed the family to briefly view the body after the postmortem and forcefully took it away and cremated it without the consent of the family and in the presence of approximately 300 police officials. This was done despite repeated requests by the family to let them take the body to their house for a short duration of time. 

Family members of the victim, including women, were subjected to extreme physical torture by male police personnel, while in police custody for a duration of 8 hours. This had occurred when they reached the police station to enquire about the whereabouts of the body. 

On the 16th of October, a protest was called outside Model Town Police Station demanding an immediate registration of FIR, fair and impartial investigation into the incident and action to be taken against police officials involved in the forceful cremation of the girl’s body and custodial torture of the family. At this protest gathering 10 people were detained, taken into police custody and brutally assaulted by the police personnel. The detainees include family members, student activists and a Caravan journalist. The Model Town police have now registered an FIR against the detained persons under the Epidemic Act. 

The brazenness with which the Delhi police have attempted to cover up, destroy evidence and crush the protesting family into silence shows the extent of state impunity granted to the police and the accused, when they belong to the affluent class or upper caste sections. Ever since the Hathras gangrape case effected massive outrage across the country, several reports of sexual violence and murder of women, especially from Dalit and marginalized sections, have surfaced along with news of Hathras style forceful cremations, procedural lapses, destruction of evidence and cover-ups. 

While we recognise that these are not isolated incidents and are located in the larger social reality shaped and defined by caste, patriarchy and class based relations and institutions, it is imperative to recognise the blatant state sanction involved in shielding perpetrators that only serves to embolden such caste based sexual violence.

We have seen in the case of Hathras rape victim how from the local police, medical examiners, district administration to government, the entire state apparatus was in cohorts to distort the statement of the victim and family violating all principles of fairness and justice. This model keeps getting replicated everyday along with rising cases of sexual violence and heavy repression of public outrage and protests by the heavy state machinery. We condemn the illegal cover up, destruction of evidence, forceful cremation and custodial violence and the attempt to criminalize peaceful protesters by the Model Town Police. We demand:

1) Immediate registration of FIR against the accused under relevant sections of IPC and SC ST Atrocities Act.
2) Independent and impartial investigation to be carried out into the case. 
3) Immediate action to be taken against police personnel involved in committing procedural lapses and forceful cremation of the victim’s body. 
4) Action to be taken against police personnel who were involved in the custodial violence of the family members, student activists and a journalist. 
5) Withdraw the FIR filed against family members, students and journalist for peacefully protesting. 

Issued by:

BSCEM
Disha
DSU
KYS
PinjraTod
SFI

The above statement is by the student’s unions, and has not been independently verified. However, now, as the news of the unnatural death of a Dalit teenager in Delhi, gets out, and hopefully followed up by local media, it will be a litmus test not just for the media, but also for the Delhi Government, as well as the women’s rights, and workers’ organisations, to see that justice is served. The facts of the case and cause of suicide still remain a matter of deep investigation. However one thing is clear: A 17-year-old Dalit girl was found dead in the national Capital, and it did not make national news.

Related:

UP: Teenage Dalit girl’s body found in paddy field, family suspect rape
Another Rape! 17-Year-Old Kidnapped, Gang-Raped For 22 Days: Odisha
Woman sets herself ablaze in front of Assembly building in Lucknow!
Teen alleges rape on college campus where UP civil services exam was underway!
Dalit girl gangraped by ‘upper-caste’ men dies: Will UP CM finally react?

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Agra: On December 18, Sanjali Chanakya, a Dalit Class 10 student, was returning home from Asharfi Devi Chidda Singh Inter-College in Naumeel village, which she attended, to her residential village of Lalau, roughly five kilometres away in the Agra district. She breathed her last two days later at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi on December 20.
 
Sanjali was doused with petrol and set on fire by two unidentified bike-borne men while on her way home. She suffered 55% full thickness burns and succumbed to her injuries. Two days later, her cousin brother committed suicide.
 
Six days after the 15-year-old was burnt to death, the Uttar Pradesh Police on Tuesday said they have cracked the case and that Sanjali was killed by her cousin brother Yogesh and two of his relatives.
 
Agra SSP Amit Pathak said on Tuesday, “We have recovered a love letter from Yogesh’s room, which was addressed to Sanjali. She had rejected his proposals saying Yogesh was her brother. After this, Yogesh wanted to take revenge on Sanjali.”
 
According to police, Sanjali’s cousin, Yogesh had been stalking her and was dejected after she refused to reciprocate his advances. 24-year-old Yogesh, who committed suicide soon after Sanjali’s death, had gathered two of his relatives and planned the murder in advance.
 
“Police have now nabbed two of the killers who poured kerosene on the schoolgirl and set her on fire on the instructions of Yogesh. Two days after Sanjali passed away, Yogesh consumed poison and killed himself. Admitted at the hospital, Sanjali had said in her statement that the culprits had helmets on but she could still identify one of them as a relative of Yogesh. Sanjali identified him as Yogesh’s uncle’s son, Vijay,” reported India Today.
 
“Police have said that the two accomplices of Yogesh, Vijay and Akash, were riding a bike when they poured the kerosene on Sanjali and set her on fire, causing major burns. Police have also seized the motorbike that was used in the crime. The investigators have come across WhatsApp chats, phone call records and a love letter addressed to Sanjali, which incriminated Yogesh. According to them, Yogesh was influenced by the television programme Crime Patrol that led him to plan and execute the killing,” the report said.
 
The police have said that the other two accused, Akash and Vijay, were lured by Yogesh who offered them Rs. 15,000 each and it was Yogesh who doused Sanjali with petrol before setting her on fire. The police version did not go down well with Sanjali’s family. Yogesh’s father, who is the brother of Harendra Jatav (Sanjali’s father) share the same compound in the village.
 
Following the incident, Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad also visited the family and had called for protests but they were postponed following the arrests. UP deputy CM Dinesh Sharma also visited the village and promised a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, which is yet to be delivered.

 
On December 18, villagers were stunned when they found out that Sanjali was burnt alive when she was returning from school. Lalau is populated in equal numbers by Jats and Jatavs and has since seen high caste tensions as a number of Dalits believed it was the work of the Jats. The incident occurred the same day that DGP Police Om Prakash Singh was visiting the district. Following the incident, several people raised doubts over the police in the state.
 

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Increasing lawlessness in Uttar Pradesh, especially against the most vulnerable sections has been growing under the RSS-Yogi regime and the latest incident has drwan widespread criticism. Bhim Army has been at the forefront of the protests after which the BSP too has joined in.Last saturday, Bhim Army activists gathered at the Police Lines and burned effigies of the state government. A growing protest against the BJP regime has been emerging in recent weeks. There gas been a deafening silence on the state of affairs in UP from the central government , be it the Home Minister, Rajnath Singh or the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

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