Two days after a 23-year-old Dalit victim of sexual harassment died after falling from an ambulance in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, her brother said on Tuesday that the family had lost everything but would continue its fight for justice. His 18-year-old younger brother was beaten to death in August last year by some men after he did not agree to “settle” a 2019 case of harassment filed against them by his sister.
On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also spoke with the family members of the victim over the phone and promised them of his party’s support.
Mr. Gandhi, in an X post, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “ended the rule of law”. “Just thinking about what the BJP leaders have done to this Dalit family in Madhya Pradesh fills my heart with pain and anger. It is a matter of shame that under the BJP rule, the government is always found standing with the culprits instead of the victim women,” he wrote.
The woman died on May 26 after she reportedly fell from the ambulance while taking home the body of her uncle, who died after he was allegedly thrashed on May 25 by some men over a dispute. In August last year, her 18-year-old brother was murdered and their mother was allegedly stripped and beaten by some men.
Speaking to The Hindu, the 21-year-old brother said, “What is now left for us? My brother and sister have been killed. Our uncle who was a witness in brother’s murder case has also been killed. For us, there is nothing left but the fight for justice now. My mother is also a witness in the August case.”
Seeks CBI probe
The family has demanded a CBI probe into the entire matter as the brother claimed that her sister had feared threat to her life after her uncle’s death.
“The security provided to her after our brother’s murder last year was withdrawn earlier this month without any intimation. The police have not even told us how she fell from the ambulance. We have been facing threats and coercion from the accused and local politicians for about a year now,” he said.
He said that he too had been beaten up a few times since his younger brother’s death, and the local police had filed false cases against him.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav is scheduled to visit the family on Wednesday. The girl’s brother said the local authorities had been asking his family members what they plan to tell the Chief Minister.
Following the woman’s death, the Opposition Congress attacked the ruling BJP, accusing it of siding with the accused instead of the victim.
State Congress president Jitu Patwari visited the victim’s family in Barodia Nonagir village on Tuesday. After the girl’s brother, who spoke to Mr. Gandhi, alleged that the administration was putting “pressure” on the family and the police was not adding the names of some suspects, Mr. Gandhi is heard asking him to explain everything to State Congress president.
Mr. Patwari shared a video of the conversation on X. The girl’s brother also said their uncle was a witness in his younger brother’s murder case.
Rahul’s assurance
“Do not get scared. We are standing by you and we will help you with whatever you need,” said Mr. Gandhi.
“Such incidents break the courage of every person who has no other way to seek justice except the law,” Mr. Gandhi wrote in his X post.
Heart wrenching, says Priyanka
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also termed the incident “heart wrenching”, and alleged that BJP leaders did not want the women, Dalits, tribals and backward people to “live with dignity”.
“Be it the wrestler sisters in Delhi, the victims of Hathras-Unnao or this horrific incident, wherever women were tortured, Narendra Modi ji and his government saved the accused. If the sisters on whom atrocities were committed sought justice, their families were destroyed,” she wrote on X on Monday evening.
Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh, who visited the victim’s family on Monday, demanded that the Sagar District Collector and the Superintendent of Police be removed from their posts over the woman’s death, claiming that the police security given to her was withdrawn only 10 days before her death.
While the Congress has also raised suspicions over the woman’s death, the local police has started inquest proceedings in the matter.
“As per those in the ambulance with her, she was talking over the phone when she fell. We are still investigating if she fell accidentally or deliberately jumped,” Sachin Parte, sub-divisional police officer (SDOP), Khurai, said.
One held in uncle’s murder case
The local police have arrested one person in connection with the murder of the woman’s uncle, while four accused remain at large. “He was beaten by some men during a clash between two groups and died later. We have nabbed one accused named Fahim and will catch the other four accused soon,” said Mr. Parte.
He also said that while a case had been registered at the Khurai Police Station under IPC Section 307 as well as under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, murder charges were added after his death.
Another police officer, however, denied that he was the girl’s uncle. “He was a friend of the girl’s brother who was killed in August last year,” the officer told The Hindu.
Mr. Parte said 12 out of the total 13 accused arrested in connection with the murder of the woman’s younger brother in August 2023 are still in jail, while one is out on bail.
