Dalit girls burnt,colony says were a shame

Rajkali,the girls mother,says the neighbours even attacked the house on December 11 and threatened to kill them if Rajesh wasnt found soon. Two policemen were stationed right in front of the house,but reportedly couldnt prevent the mob attack on December 18. Rajkali was locked up before the girls were allegedly assaulted.

We had begged the police to protect us. We even asked them to put us all behind bars. At least we would have been safe. My young daughters were brutally killed while I kept screaming for help, a distraught Rajkali told The Indian Express.

Since Sunday the mother has sought refuge with the Valmiki community,staying where the rest of the community lives.

Geeta and Neetu were the youngest of seven siblings five sisters and two brothers. Modest girls,they had never received an education. The sons,like others of their age in the Valmiki community here,collect garbage in their neighbourhoods to earn a living. They had no criminal record.

The neighbours,however,claim the girls committed suicide,and that the family has shamed them all. As an elderly woman walking past the house complains living here has become difficult,the corner departmental store owner talks about his slack business over the past week. Either the police come over in large numbers or the Valmiki community blocks the lanes in protest. I have had to keep the shop closed for three days and even now people rarely come out of their houses.

Neighbour Kishor Sharma denies the possibility of a mob killing. The girls committed suicide because of the humiliation they had to bear after their brothers got involved in theft and murder. If they were set on fire and killed,wouldnt the entire room be up in flames? Sharma says.

It is said that the boys killed the traders wife and daughter brutally and looted the house. They had left a bag in the adjacent shop,which had four cellphones belonging to the trader,Pankaj Gagneja,which was later handed over to the police. While Rakesh was nabbed by the police,Rajesh is still absconding. In fact he came back to his house to clean the bloodstains after the murder and his family knows where he is, the neighbour adds.

While the police too initially said they suspected suicide,a case has been registered against Gagneja and seven others for murder and under various sections of the Prevention of Atrocities Against SC/STs Act.

Says Ashok Kumar Singh,DIG,Moradabad: A case has been registered based on the mothers statement. However,no evidence has been found so far against the accused. Also the postmortem report states that the death was caused due to burning and no other injuries.

Since Sunday the Valmiki community,that has over 1,400 safai karamcharis working for the Nagar Nigam Moradabad,has called an indefinite strike,seeking for immediate arrests in the case.

Vinod Bikal,advocate and a senior member of the Valmiki Samaj,says: We want a fair judicial probe. The police refused to lodge an FIR and it was only after the postmortem yesterday that they filed a report. If they wanted,the girls could have been saved.

She had no personal problems with the neighbours,Rajkali adds. They wanted us to move out of the locality because we were the only Dalits there.