Plundered Kothewadi suffers in silent humiliation

Plundered Kothewadi suffers in silent humiliation
PRASANNAKUMAR KESKAR

AHMEDNAGAR, JAN 23: Kothewadi, a sleepy hamlet with barely 25 houses located on the border of Ahmednagar and Beed districts, is cowering in fear ever since a gang of 20 dacoits swooped down on the village, beat and raped as many as four women a week ago. And now, despite heavy police presence, Kothewadi continues to find itself caught in an atmosphere of terror.

The hamlet is located about 70 km from Nagar. For years, it had a population of just about 100 persons. Today, its inhabitants are outnumbered by visitors VVIPs, ministers, top police officials, local politicians, women’s organisations and mediapersons all of whom are coming in droves from all over the state to meet the residents.

It was the night of January 16 when the dacoits swooped down on Kothewadi, holding all the residents to ransom, looting and raping women. They were on a rampage for nearly five hours. The victims were not at all in a position to either retaliate or register their protest since most of the menfolk, who are sugarcane cutting labourers, were out working. Gory details of the incident are still coming out.

The victims allege that the dacoits consumed liquor and danced while many of them were being stripped and raped.

The incident has shocked Pathardi taluka no end. Demonstrations and hunger strikes are being staged to condemn the incident and to protest against the failure of the police in arresting the culprits. Responding to a bandh call by all parties, all the shops in Pathardi taluka today remained closed and nearly 700 persons participated in a morcha taken out at the tehsil office in Pathardi.

Guardian Minister Dilip Walse-Patil visited the hamlet and spoke to the victims on Monday. So did the local MP Dilip Gandhi. After spending about 45 minutes with the victims, all that Walse-Patil had to tell reporters was that the state government was taking all possible measures to improve the law and order situation. He offered to rehabilitate the victims to a ‘‘safer place.’’

He conceded that the police were facing a major manpower crunch and were ill-equipped to patrol the vast area falling under Ahmednagar district. But, the minister’s visit brought little comfort to the victims, whose physical wounds have further aggravated due to lack of medical facilities to treat them.

‘‘A team of medicos from the primary health centre at Pathardi visits the hamlet everyday. But, all that they do is administer first aid on us and provide some medicines. Many of us need to consult orthopaedicians. But, nobody has ever given any thought to that,’’ say some of the victims.

Take the example of 90-year-old Devubai Bhanudas Kothe. The dacoits tortured her and her husband mercilessly demanding money from them. Bhanudas was stabbed on his hand and chest. Devubai was also stabbed on her hand. She says the dacoits also hit on her fingers. All her fingers are swollen. But, she alleges, she is still to be taken to an orthopaediacian. ‘‘I just can’t do anything with my hands. The authorities say they will soon take me to Ahmednagar hospital for a complete check-up. A week has already passed and the pain still persists. When are they going to take me to Ahmednagar,’’ she asks.

Every resident here has a heart-wrenching tale to tell. An 80-year-old woman claims that remained a mere spectator as five dacoits outraged the modesty of her daughter-in-law and a teenaged neighbour who had taken refuge in their house. She alleges that the dacoits stripped all the women who had in her house and torched their clothes.

‘‘We were forced to open the door when the dacoits started throwing burning cotton balls on us. They just barged inside and overpowered us. We gave them all the valuables that we had. They stripped all the women and raped my daughter-in-law and a teenage neighbour. I was so enraged that I thought of burning them (the dacoits) alive. But, they could have easily killed us had I done anything of that sort,’’ she rues.

Says one of the victims, ‘‘They behaved in a beastly manner. They stripped us and burnt our clothes. They stripped us, tortured us with fire and then dragged us all over. I was dragged to an elevated platform outside the house in which I had taken refuge and violated by several persons. Some of the dacoits were singing Bollywood songs and dancing at the time when I was being raped.’’

According to the victims, the dacoits arrived at the hamlet around 11 pm. Immediately after entering the hamlet, they beat up some boys fast asleep at a temple. Then they stormed the houses and beat up the occupants. They did not even spare a two-year-old child.

The victims claim that during their five-hour long stay at the hamlet, the dacoits consumed liquor which they carried on their person. A group of teenage boys tried to retaliate by hurling stones at dacoits, but they were chased away.

One of these boys later went to Manikadundi village, located about five kms from the hamlet, and informed the Pathardi police. The dacoits fled only after spotting the police arriving at the spot in a van. Superintendent of police Ajit Patil corroborated the sequence of incidents told by the victims. He said a team of policemen led by assistant superintendents Vijay Chavan and Ramesh Kumar Mor visited the hamlet and recorded statements of the victims on January 17. However, he said, none of the victims claimed about being raped or molested by the dacoits at the time.

Patil said the incident had gone as a simple case of dacoity till he visited the hamlet on January 19 and recorded statements of four victims who alleged that they had been raped. He said one of the raped victims is a 65-year-old while the others are in their 20s.

Patil says the police had launched a massive hunt to track down the culprits immediately after the incident. However, he was reluctant to reveal details about the progress of investigations. All he had to say was, ‘‘We have some clues about the dacoits and they will be arrested soon.’’

Surrounded by hills from all sides, the hamlet is located on both sides of a stream. All the residents are sugarcane cutting labourers. Pathardi taluka being a drought-prone area, the menfolk normally work outstation and stay away from homes for many months. The only people left in the hamlet during such period are children, women and aged men. The nearest police station to the hamlet is at about 17 kms at Pathardi.