Ground report: 2 crores offered for settlement in Dalit murder case: Mother said – video made by daughter became the reason for death; former minister rejected the allegations

The death of Anjana, the most important witness of the Dalit murder case of Barodia Naungir in Sagar district, after falling from the ambulance has become a mystery. Neither the police is saying anything, nor the villagers. The Ahirwar family, which has suffered the pain of the death of their son and daughter within a year, is scared.
The Ahirwar family alleges that former minister Bhupendra Singh is helping the accused. He sent a jeep to call Anjana, Vishnu (brother) and Rajendra (uncle) to his bungalow in Khurai for a compromise. Bhupendra Singh offered 2 crores in exchange for a settlement. Anjana secretly made a video on her mobile. Anjana’s brother Vishnu alleges that the police have seized that mobile.
However, Bhupendra Singh rejected these allegations in response to questions from Dainik Bhaskar. On the question of compromise, he said, if the family has any complaint, then tell the police and the court. On the question of helping the accused, he said, what help am I giving, all of them are in jail.

Anjana’s mother accuses the police of threatening her and says that the policemen were saying – your one more son Vishnu will also be killed. Recently, the Civil Rights Group of social organizations, which came to investigate this murder, has also raised questions on the police investigation in its report.

After the report of the Civil Rights Forum came out, Dainik Bhaskar went to meet the victim’s family.

According to the police FIR.

Why is the family rejecting the police claim?

After Anjana’s suspicious death, the police had claimed that she had jumped from the ambulance. Whereas the family says that Anjana has been murdered. To understand the police claim, Bhaskar contacted Bhagmati, the mother of Rajendra Ahirwar, who was in the hearse that day.

Bhagmati cannot speak and hear properly. With the help of her younger son, we explained the question. So she told in a stuttering voice that that day in Sagar, the police gave a bottle of water before sitting in the ambulance. They told us to drink water. Me and my husband Ramsevak drank the water. After this we fell asleep.

The police woke us up by shaking us at Khurai intersection. When we looked, Anjana was lying some distance away from the vehicle. Blood was oozing out of her head. My husband Ramsevak took Rajendra’s body to the village. I took Anjana to Sagar hospital in another vehicle. Here the doctors declared Anjana dead. We don’t know how Anjana fell.

Based on this, Anjana’s parents say that their daughter cannot jump from the ambulance. She has been murdered.

Family and civil rights group raised these questions
Bhaskar asked Anjana’s mother, the elder daughter-in-law, why she feels that she has been murdered. To this, she said- how did the door of the van in which the daughter was sitting suddenly open? The speed of the car must have been low at the crossroad where the daughter was lying in an injured condition, then how did she fall?
The elder daughter-in-law says that it is surprising that neither the police nor Rajendra’s parents saw Anjana falling. How did both of them fall into a deep sleep after drinking the water given by the police to Rajendra’s parents?
Madhuri of the civil rights group said, she wanted to get information from Shashi Vishwakarma, the officer investigating Anjana’s death. On this, she said that the matter is under investigation and refused to give any information.
Mother’s allegation – 2 crores were offered for compromise
The elder daughter-in-law said, after the murder of son Nitin, there was pressure on us to compromise. Twice a jeep was sent from Khurai to call us. Vishnu, Anjana, Naresh, brother-in-law Mohan and Rajendra Ahirwar went by jeep.
They were taken to Bhupendra Singh’s bungalow. After returning, daughter Anjana had told that in the bungalow, former minister Bhupendra said – We are the leader, we are the minister, this is our government. Resign, we will give 2 crore rupees. Anjana had made a video of it.

Former minister said – I am not helping anyone

Allegations of political interference have been made in the case from the beginning. After Nitin’s murder, former Chief Minister Digvijay Singh had alleged that the police did not include the name of Ankit Singh of BJP Yuva Morcha in the FIR. Anjana had also complained about adding the name in the FIR.

BJP leaders including Khurai MLA and former minister Bhupendra Singh have said that the reason behind these murders was mutual dispute. It is also not hidden from anyone that the three main accused in Nitin’s murder have been associated with the ruling party.

Komal Singh Thakur was appointed as Mandi representative by Bhupendra Singh in 2020. When Dainik Bhaskar contacted former minister Bhupendra Singh regarding these allegations of the family, he rejected all the allegations and said that the whole matter is being investigated. The matter is in court.
Know in detail where the whole controversy started

In 2019, Anjana Ahirwar’s brother Vishnu was beaten up. A few days later, Anjana was beaten up and molested. Anjana filed an FIR against the Lambardars. After this, the accused started pressuring for a compromise. When the Ahirwar family did not agree, in 2023, 4 years after the incident, Anjana’s brother Nitin was murdered in broad daylight. The mother was also stripped naked in the middle of the market.
This case was going on when 9 months later in May, Rajendra Ahirwar, a close associate of the Ahirwar family, was murdered. Rajendra was an important witness in Nitin’s murder. Anjana was an important witness in the murders of both Nitin and Rajendra.
Understand another angle of the dispute between Dalits and Thakurs…
Most of the Dalits in the village work as laborers in the fields of Thakurs
This village with a population of 3500 has 23 percent Dalits. Among them, Ahirwars are the most. 11 percent are tribals. These people do farming and labor. There are also Kori, Patel, Muslim and Thakur in the village. There are 25 Thakur houses, but they have the most agricultural land in the village. Thakurs also rent the land of small farmers. Most of the people of the village work as labourers in Thakurs’ fields. It is alleged that those who do not go to Thakurs’ fields to work are their target.

Anjana’s father Raghuvir Ahirwar used to work as a guard in Indore. Anjana, his only daughter among his 4 children, was studying graduation in Sagar. Rohit, the eldest of the three sons, used to work in a village shop. Vishnu, the second one, works in a hotel in Bhopal. The younger one, Nitin, used to look after the booking of horses. This family did not go to Thakurs’ fields to work as labourers.

Anjana’s brother Rohit says that I used to work in a tent house earlier. We bought a horse for 50 thousand rupees from the nearby Binayaki village. We used to take bookings for horse-carriage in weddings. On free days, we used to roam around the village on horse. Many times we used to ride horses in front of the village’s lumberdars’ houses. They did not like this.

‘Police did not pay attention to CCTV footage of the murder’

On 23 August 2023, Nitin was beaten to death, the entire incident was captured in the CCTV installed there. Police arrested 13 people, but the family alleged that some influential people were let off. These accused are also seen in the CCTV footage.

Anjana’s mother said, that day Komal Azad, Vikram and Ajay Thakur had come to compromise in the molestation case. Then Nitin had gone to the market. They were looking for Nitin. The accused went towards the market, I also followed them. I had just reached the son when the accused attacked. When I tried to save him, they stripped me naked. After beating the son, they came home and vandalized. Killed the horse. After this, they also went to the house of middle brother-in-law Mohan and Rajendra.

Anjana’s mother said, the incident happened at 7 pm. Police came around 9 pm. Son was referred to Sagar in injured condition. He died on the way. After this, we were given police protection. CCTVs were also installed.

On May 6, 2024, a day before the Lok Sabha elections, the police engaged in security left without informing. The cameras had stopped working in March itself. A complaint was also made about this. After the police guard was removed, the bullies became more fearless. A few days later, on May 25, Rajendra was also murdered.

This is the CCTV footage, which the Ahirwar family had given to the police. It is alleged that the police did not pay attention to it.

All the cases against Nitin and Vishnu were registered after 2019

In 2019, Anjana had registered a case of assault, threat and SC-ST against Komal Singh Thakur, Vikram Singh Thakur, Chhotu Raikwar, Azad Thakur, Pushpendra Thakur and Ankit Thakur of the village. Anjana had also alleged molestation in the complaint, but the police did not include it in the FIR.

After this, the problems of this family started. Mother and elder daughter-in-law say that false cases started being registered against sons Nitin and Vishnu at the behest of the bullies. The criminal record of both the sons which the police refer to, all those cases were registered only after Anjana filed an FIR. The bullies were pressurizing them to compromise by taking such action.

Woman jumps from moving ambulance, dies: wanted to block the road by placing uncle’s body on the road

On May 26, a 23-year-old girl jumped from a moving ambulance in Khurai of Sagar district. She died on the spot due to severe injuries. She was coming to her village with her uncle’s body in the ambulance along with her family. According to the family, the girl’s uncle Rajendra Ahirwar was attacked by some people of the village in an old dispute. He died during treatment in Bundelkhand Medical College of Sagar. The girl wanted to block the road by placing uncle’s body on the road. Read the full news…

Case of uncle’s murder and niece’s death in Sagar: PCC chief made the victim’s family talk to Rahul Gandhi

After Anjana’s death in Barodia Naunagir of Sagar, State Congress Committee President Jitu Patwari had come to meet Anjana Ahirwar’s family. The family showed him the videos and documents of the time of the incident. Along with this, there was a demand to add Ankit Thakur’s name in the FIR and get the case investigated by CBI. Read the full news…
The murderers of son and daughter are threatening the parents: Mother said – Police officers say that the second son will also be killed

Whenever we go anywhere, when we apply, the murderers of our son and daughter threaten us. Police officers also threaten. That day, an officer lower than the SP was saying that your second son Vishnu will also be killed.’In August 2023, 10 months after the shameful incident of the murder of the 18-year-old son Nitin of this family in broad daylight and stripping the mother, the Dalit massacre of Barodia Naunagir is once again in the news.

Courtesy: Dainik Bhaskar
This news was originally published in bhaskar.com and was used completely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes especially for human rights.