In a tragic incident, a 21-year-old Dalit girl, who was studying BA, died after allegedly jumping from a moving ambulance that carried the body of her uncle, Rajendra Ahirwar, 28. Ahirwar was allegedly beaten to death the previous day by an upper-caste family.
The ambulance was carrying the body of Rajendra Ahirwar from a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar to their village Barodiya Nainagir in Khurai town when the girl, Anjana Ahirwar, jumped out, ending her life.
Rajendra Ahirwar, who worked as a labourer, was reportedly attacked by five people, identified as Ashiq Qureshi, Israil Bena, Faheem Khan and Tantu Qureshi over previous animosity. The incident had occurred at the home of Pappu Razak, a close aide of the Thakurs, who have been accused of molesting Anjana and the murder of her brother, Nitin Ahirwar, alias Lalu, nine months ago.
In 2019, Anjana had registered a case against the Thakur family members, including Komal Thakur, Azad Thakur and Vikram Thakur, accusing them of outraging her modesty. The Thakurs threatened her family members with dire consequences if she did not withdraw the case. The family refused to back down, leading to the brutal murder of Nitin Ahirwar, Anjana’s brother, in August 2023.
Accused close aides of BJP MLA
Anjana’s cousin Akash Ahirwar told Scroll, “When Anjana was molested she came home and revealed the incident to her parents, who filed a complaint against the Thakur men. However, earlier this month, Vijay Thakur was released on bail, Since then there was a lot of pressure on us.”
He added, “The Thakurs are related to BJP MLA, Bhupendra Singh. They kept pressurising us to withdraw the molestation case.”
Dharmendra Dhairwar, the district leader of the Bhim Army, told Scroll, “The Thakurs are closely related to BJP MLA Bhupendra Singh. Locals demanded to demolish their houses as punishment. The collector had agreed to demolish their house. However, the action was stalled by the district administration.”
Bhupendra Singh, who has served as an MP and state minister, is currently the MLA for Khurai.
According to FIR filed over Anjana’s complaint, following her molestation, Vikram Thakur, Komal Thakur, and Vijay Thakur forcibly entered their house looking for her brother Nitin. Later, upon finding him in another village, the Thakurs attacked him. Nitin succumbed to his injuries the following day. Later, their mother was reportedly stripped and paraded through the village.
This case is currently under trial in a special court in Sagar district.
The death of Nitin created a sense of fear among his family due to which they were given police protection. However, following the death of Anjana and Rajendra, their family alleged the police were complicit in the crime as they removed CCTV cameras near their residence after withdrawing protection.
Political row
Soon after Anjana’s death, a political storm erupted in Sagar district as political opponents blamed each other for what happened to the family.
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who met with the Ahirwar family, demanded the removal of the collector and superintendent of police of Sagar district, alleging that the administration had failed to provide adequate security to the family and had removed CCTV cameras from their area.
The opposition party has also called for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the deaths, claiming that the state government under chief minister Mohan Yadav has failed to maintain law and order in the state. Another Congress leader, Jitu Patwari, accused the government of being complicit in the crimes, stating that the accused enjoy political patronage.
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