On December 26, a dead body of a twenty-year-old Dalit girl, Kiran Kumar from Ravidas community, was found in a water canal at Shahpur Chowk under Tisiatu police station of Vaishali district, around 80 Kilometres north of Patna, Bihar.
According to an FIR filed with Kiran's mother Akali Devi's thumb impression,"Kiran had gone to relieve herself in a nearby field when she was forcibly taken away by four upper-caste males called Anurag Kumar, Rakesh Kumar, Manoj Chaudhary, Anshu Kumar, and 5-6 other unknown persons. When the girl began to weep, we hurried to her hep, but we were chased away; they displayed a firearm and used abusive words."
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However, the police said that the girl's family members did not approach them until the dead body was found. Talking to Outlook, Superintendent of Police, Vaishali, Shree Manish said, "The family did not reach out to the police until her body was found in the water canal."
The local media quoted her family members stating that twenty-year-old Kiran Kumari was supposed to be 'returned' by her 'kidnappers' in two days. "But she never returned," they said.
Jaguar Ram, Kiran's father, works as a labor in Punjab while her mother, Akali Devi, works as a labourer as well. They live less than half a kilometer away from where Kiran's body was discovered.
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Meanwhile, on December 26, Local Bhim Army workers staged a demonstration in the area on Sunday (December 26) against the killing. On Monday, they took it to the streets once again. The Janda-Kushhar route was also closed near the house of the deceased girl. The Local Bhim Army workers urged that the culprit should be arrested, the family should be compensated, and that one of the family members be given a government job. In addition, the local unit of the Bhim Army held a candlelight procession demanding punishment of the culprits.
The FIR registered post-death also states that when Akali Devi and others went to Manoj Chaudhary's house, she was informed that her daughter would return in two days.
The FIR had no mention of what exactly happened on those two days after her kidnapping. Instead, it concludes that some women discovered a dead body on December 26.
Talking to Outlook, state president of Bhim Army, Rajesh Chowdhry, said that Kiran was the youngest among her siblings. "She was a matriculate," he said.
"The girl's mother was asked to keep shut by the kidnappers threatening to kill her if she went to the police. She kept pleading with them but ultimately, she lost her girl, and also that is why the family didn't approach the police after the abduction. the FIR was an intervention post-death only." Rajesh Chowdhry added.
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He alleged that the accused "treated the Dalit girl very badly, leading to her death.
"There are also apprehensions about the girl being raped before being killed. However, it's not confirmed yet." Rajesh added.
The Superintendent of Police, Shree Manish, informed Outlook that the two accused, Anurag and Anshul, have been arrested by the police under the charges of IPC 302, 34 and SC/ST Act, etc.
"We have already acted swiftly in the case and have arrested Anurag and Anushal; we are looking out for the other accused in the case now. However, the opinion on the cause of the death is reserved in the post-mortem report," Superintendent of Police (SP), Shree Manish, told the Outlook.
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On being asked about the possibilities of rape, Shree Manish said, "that is not clear to us yet."
