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As per the statements given by the victims, witnesses and officials, it is found that the village Mahinava which is under Maner police station in the district of Patna consists of 609 families (Pasi-5; Julaha-25; Kaju-6; Teli-5; Nai-10; Carpenter-8; Dusadh-50; Ravidas-100 and Yadav-400 families). The village is dominated by Yadav Community since they are economically and politically strong. They own their own land. Whereas others especially Pasi families have no land whose traditional occupation is to sell “Tori” extracted from the Tori trees which they still continue to do so.
However the victim Bhola Choudhari (60) s/o late Khemchand Choudhary, belongs to the Pasi community who carries out the traditional occupation of selling “Tori” and with the income he feeds his family members. His family consists of his wife Rampuri Devi (55) and five children. They all depend upon the only soul earning member of the family who has been victimized by some unknown perpetrators. Bhola Choudhari used to earn his livelihood by selling “Tori”. While doing so he had invited many petty quarrels with the customers but no past enmities were acknowledged by him when statements were taken.
Moreover it was difficult to identify the perpetrators who came from his behind and attacked him when he was on his way back home after fulfilling the natural call at 11pm on 21.8.2006 in Mahinava village. By the time he could identify the two of the perpetrators, they tied his eyes with cloth and crammed a piece of cloth into his mouth and later gauged his eyes out with knives and ran away. He fell unconscious due to unbearable pain. When he did not return his home for more than a half an hour, his wife Rampuri Devi went out to call him back home. She found that her husband was sighing with pain. She immediately ran to him and cried for his help. On hearing the cry of Rampuri Devi, the neighbours came out and took him to Maner hospital from where he was referred to Patna Medical College Hospital. He was admitted for almost 10 days.
Meanwhile the SHO Md. Kaisar Alam (45), Maner police station and DSP Pramod Kumar Mandal (46), Danapur, Patna, visited the victim in the PMCH for the statement. The victim was unable to tell the name of the perpetrators since he was unable to identify them in the darkness. It was therefore registered a case against the unknown perpetrators under 341, 342, 324, 326, 307 and 34 IPC on 22.8.2006. On the very day the medical test was completed. The DSP had given him Rs 1000 as a medical help and the villagers had contributed Rs. 1500 for his medical expenses irrespective of castes. No Compensation has been given. No perpetrators have been arrested. In order to make inquiries, the police had taken a person into custody. Charge sheet is not submitted in the district court. The case is still under investigation.
Tetali Satyakala, D/o Oleti Raju, aged 19 years, R/o ILTD Watchman Quarters, Anaparthi; East Godavari district was undergoing Staff Nurse Training in the year 2005. She was a Dalit. Tetali Rajesh Reddy, S/o China Venkata Reddy, aged 20 years, R/o Anaparthi, East Godavari district was an inoccigible stalker, he promised to marry her. On 16th November 2005, Rajesh Reddy threatened that he would die if Satyakala refuses to marry him. He took her to Bhadrachalam and married her. They rented a room near a Hanuman temple in Bhadrachalam and started living there. After some days, Rajesh’s friend Shiva Reddy a financier started visiting Rajesh’s house whenever he came to Bhadrachalam for his business purpose. Slowly he became a link between Rajesh and his parents. One day Rajesh’s mother told Satyakala on the phone that, “Whatever has happened is past. Leave my son.” Satyakala was shell-shocked, she wept. She pleaded her mother-in-law to not separate her from her husband. On 24th July 2006, Rajesh Reddy left the city. He said that that Tetali Rama Reddy, their relative and MLA had asked him to come and join a job. Rajesh never returned back to Satyakala. Satyakala waited for three days, she was unable to answer the queries of her neighbors. She consumed pesticide. Subsequently the Police was informed. The Police filed a case and Satyakala’s parents were informed. They brought their daughter back to Anaparthi and they called Rajesh’s parents. They did not respond and Satyakala complained in the Anaparthi Police Station on 16th August 2006. The Police refused to register the case in the beginning but with the interference of Dalit Sthree Sakthi, a case was registered on 18th August 2006.
The Police took Rajesh’s parents and his friend Shiva Reddy into custody on 26th August 2006. Rajesh’s relatives threatened Satyakala, so she gave a representation to the District Magistrate asking for protection of her life. The magistrate said that he would take immediate action. A representation was given to the Joint Collector on the same day. As the Magistrate and Joint Collector took immediate action, Rajesh Reddy surrendered in the court on 30th August 2006. On 31st August 2006, Satyakala met Rajesh Reddy while he was in remand. Rajesh refused to recognize their marriage and conjugal life. On 4th September 2006, Satyakala said that if Rajesh agrees to register their marriage, she would take back her case. Even then Rajesh did not agree. On 4th October 2006, a representation was given to the SP to alter the provisions in the FIR. Satyakala was sent for medical examination. Presently Rajesh, his parents and friend Shiva Reddy are out on bail. The accused, Tetali Rajesh Reddy is still refusing to consummate the marriage. Rajesh Reddy and the other accused persons were arrested and released on bail. The case is pending in the Court.
The Bihar police on 22 August, 2006 , finally registered complaints of seven Dalit women, who were earlier denied justice despite claiming that they had been gang raped in Suryagarha village of Lakhisarai district by local landlords, and ordered the district police to frame rape charges against the four accused. According to reports, Four Dalit women of a Bihar village were allegedly raped by powerful landed upper caste men of their village last week, but the police have refused to register their compliant. The women, from very poor families of Ramnagar-Gopalpur village in Lakhisarai district, were raped at gunpoint on Aug 6 night by a local land owner and his goons to teach them a lesson for refusing to vote for a woman candidate - the wife of an upper caste landowner - during the Panchayat (village council) elections in June.
The local police turned away the women when they went to file a complaint and the local administration behaved indifferently too. The women had gone to Patna to seek justice, but their efforts to move the state administration during the last four days had yielded no results so far.
Therefore they approached Manju Prakash, chairman of the Bihar state women commission when the local police refused to take action against the accused. The women told Prakash that they were raped because they had refused to cast their votes in favour of a particular candidate. Even their men were beaten, humiliated and threatened with being killed when they rushed to save them. They have named Bipin Singh and his henchmen for the rape. What shocked the victims was that police refused to register a case against Singh and forcibly drove us away.
Consequently the Dalits of the village protested the rape by blocking the roads but were assaulted by the Block Development Officer, who ordered that the protestors be arrested, including an 80-year-old man and local police lathicharged the mob. When the women approached a Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe police station, the police only registered a case of assault, not of rape.
On the contrary, along with their children, the women came to Patna and met Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, both central ministers from Bihar, to seek justice. While Lalu Prasad had assured that he would raise their case and fight for them, Paswan too promised them help. They also met former chief minister and leader of opposition Rabri Devi. They filed an FIR (First Information Report), but the police did not file a rape case. The women have not gone for a medical checkup also. They came here for justice as the police were not taking action against the culprits. Victim did not get compensation. No TA/DA to victim and witness. Perpetrators were in jail for 6 months but now bailed out.
Four young nuts Pappu Nut (16) s/o Bangali Nut; late Pappu Nut s/o Babulal Nut; late Santosh Nut (17) s/o late Bhadai Nut and late Deepak Nut (17) s/o Lalan Nut held from Ara in Bhojpur District were allegedly beaten unto death by the dominant villagers in the presence of Police personnel. The cruelty of the police is reflected by their mere words, “What are you looking at? Kill all the four thieves.”Nevertheless, the Nut community enjoys no proper basic needs. They are engaged in selling fire wood, petting buffalos and selling them for their livelihood. They are looked upon as the community of thieves by the non Dalits in and around the village. In fact at the time of this inhumane act, the stealing of pet animal esp. cows and buffalos was at its peak. Consequently, the four Dalit youths belonging to Nut community had their last breath as they were caught by the villagers alleged of stealing buffalos on 06.08.2006. Early in the morning on the same day, Bhanu Yadav s/o late Babulal Yadav saw the four taking a buffalo. He asked them to stop but they did not listen to him instead leaving the buffalo behind, started running away from there. Looking at their running, he called out for the help to catch them. ‘Catch the thieves! Catch the thieves!’ was his shout.
Meanwhile these four nuts were caught by the public and they were allegedly murdered due to their attempt to steal a buffalo. It was more shocking as the police there did not take any step to prevent the crime. It is said that the whole scene was created by the main accused Rajesh Rajak s/o Maherdra Ram, the village chief of the Ramapun Sanadiya Panchayat. The reasons behind this incident were (1) that the cousin sister in law of Bireder Nut and the wife of Satyender Nut was attempted to rape by the perpetrators Lalbabu Yadav, Kameshar Yadav, Rameshar Yadav and Nunhak Yadav vill. Badki Sandiya and the victims’ family had registered the case against the mentioned perpetrators (the case is under trial in the court) and (2) that the perpetrators wanted to take possession of the land belonging to the victims and making them evicted from the village. The above reasons were the cause for the murder of four Nuts. The attempt to steal a buffalo became the means of taking revenge and evicting the Nut families from the village. The murder of the four nuts spots out the dark side of the police administration there in Bhojpur district of Bihar that police too played a fair role in the crime. So far the police have not taken the case seriously. The police are arresting the people belonging to Nut community in this case by break opening the doors of Nuts even at midnight. Case is not register under SC/ST Act. Victim did not receive any compensation or relief. One accused is in the jail and another accuse not arrested. Case is pending in the court.