Durgawati Devi (35) belongs to Chamar (SC) caste was married to her husband Awadesh Kumar at the age of 16 years. Awadesh Kumar (36 years) studied until 10^th standard and currently works as a seasonal agricultural labourer. Durgawati Devi and Awadesh Kumar have three children: the eldest child Om Prakash (10 years) studies in 4^th standard; Pinky Kumari (8 years) studies in 3^rd standard; and Rinky Kumari (6 years) studies in 1^st standard. Durgawati Devi, her husband and their three children live in a small mud and thatch house. She works as an assistant to the person in-charge of the anganwadi (government pre-school care centre) in the village; she began doing this work in 2003.  Previously she worked as a daily wage agricultural labourer.

In Durgawati’s village, Harinder Singh (FC Rajput, 30 years), son of Jainath Singh, is a young dominant caste Rajput man notorious for his brutality and caste bigotry.  Over the years, he has intimidated, threatened, verbally abused and publicly beaten a number of Dalit women and men. In 2003, Harinder Singh built a cow shed immediately in front of the public space the Chamar families used to enjoy.  His cow shed blocks access to the main road for the Dalits’ houses. This small strip of land is government land, but Harinder Singh claims that the land belongs to him. On 14 March 2004 at 6:00 p.m., Durgawati Devi’s son Om Prakash returned to the Dalit colony after playing football.  Thirsty, he went straight to the public drinking water tap located in the Dalit colony to have a drink.  A dominant caste woman Anju Kumari (BC Kahaar), daughter of Jagan Kahaar, was filling water at the tap when Om Prakash arrived and asked her to give him some water.  She refused and told him to wait for a while until she had finished.  Just then, Harinder Singh came there to also drink water and Anju Kumari let him do so at once. On seeing this, Om Prakash said, “I asked you first, but you did not let me drink water.”

Hearing this, Harinder Singh slapped Om Prakash twice. Just then Durgawati Devi came out of her house and asked Harinder Singh why he was hitting her son. On being questioned, he picked up a stick and started beating her with it.  As he assaulted her, Harinder Singh said, “Father-fucker, whore, if you talk too much…”  Leaving the sentence incomplete he went to his house, from which he soon returned with a rod and a match box. Also present at the scene was dominant caste Rajput landowner Arun Singh (30 years), son of Lakkhandev Singh.  When Harinder Singh emerged from his house with matches and a rod, Arun Singh ran behind him, snatched the match box from him and said, “You have gone mad. Why are you doing this? You will get all of us into trouble.” Hearing all this commotion, Durgawati Devi’s husband Awadesh Ram came out of the house, but before he could say anything, Harinder Singh started beating him with the rod and threatened to burn down the entire Dalit colony.  Harinder Singh beat Durgawati Devi and her husband with the rod to the point that both sustained serious injuries. After the public beating, Durgawati Devi along with her husband went to the village mukhiya (panchayat head) Krishna Dubey (FC Brahmin) and narrated to him the entire episode. After hearing their story, he said, “What can I do? I am tired of explaining to them and they do not understand. You go to the police station and file a case.”

Durgawati Devi and her husband then went to Risiyap police station and filed a case.  The case was registered on 14 March itself in a FIR with Crime No. 38/2004 under secs. 341, 323, 504 & 34 IPC and 3(1)(x) SC/ST (PoA) Act. However, the officer in charge, Risiyap Station Sub-Inspector Rajender Ram (Chamar, 52 years), neither went to the house of the accused, nor did he try to arrest the accused.  He made a round of the village and went away without taking any action. Durgawati and Awadesh were admitted into Sadar government hospital in Aurangabad, where their injuries were treated for three days.  Durgawati Devi had been particularly severely wounded on her left hand and left knee.  Their medical treatment cost Durgawati Devi and her husband around Rs.1,000/-. Subsequently, when Harinder Singh’s father Jainath Singh came to know about the case, he came to Durgawati Devi’s house and started abusing her, saying, “You fucking cunt!  I’ll shoot you in your cunt, you untouchable!  Being a Chamar you dare to talk back to us?  We will burn all the houses of Chamars!”

As the police case seemed to be going nowhere, and Durgawati Devi was receiving threats from the perpetrator and his father, Durgawati Devi lodged a complaint with the Deputy Superintendent of Police, the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate. She gave a written request to the police for protection in response to the threats, but the police did not provide any protection. Durgawati Devi also approached a local NGO, Sampoorn Vikas Samiti, for help. Six weeks after the attack, on 28 April 2004 Harinder Singh, advised by his fellow Rajputs to turn himself in “because you have so many cases on your head”, went to the court and surrendered himself. Though accused also in the cases of Kusumi Devi and Rina Kumari, he was put in jail on account of Durgawati Devi’s case against him, After one month, however, he was released on bail. Durgawati Devi continues to live in fear of the perpetrator.