Madhya Pradesh

‘Exhibition of the Forest in the City’: Poems That Talk of the Commodification of Adivasi Culture

Arvind Krishna Mehrotra’s new translation of Vinod Kumar Shukla’s poetry makes a remarkable writer available to a larger audience.

In a poem from March 2001, Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla writes:

After Chhattisgarh became a state,

when I went to Bhopal

it didn’t seem like I was going to Madhya Pradesh,

abbreviated to M.P.,

or to put it in parenthesis, even to (M.P.).

We go to Bhopal,

we don’t go to a state.

And what will I do by going to a state?

And when I return to Raipur,

I’ll return to Raipur.

Translated into English from the original Hindi by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, this poem uncompromisingly captures two essential features of Shukla’s oeuvre – a deceptive simplicity of articulation and a quietly rebellious political engagement.

The poem, like most others by Shukla, has no title and seems to begin quite suddenly, like the snippet of a conversation, providing an apparent banal description of the narrator going from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh, to Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh, a distance of about 620 km.

But even in its description of an unremarkable journey is a gauntlet thrown to the politics of statehood and the garish trappings of power. “And what will I do by going to a state?” asks the narrator. This rhetorical question can be answered by one word: “Nothing!”

In an increasingly apathetic and frequently violent state, an individual citizen really has nothing to do with it. This is not merely a reference to Chhattisgarh or Madhya Pradesh or even India – it refers to the military-industrial complex and the deep state multinational corporate entities that seem to govern much of lives in a neo-liberal world. Though written nearly a quarter century ago, this poem perhaps rings truer today.

In many cases, it is often the most disenfranchised who bear the brunt of this violence. For instance, adivasis. In two poems included in this collection (Treasurer of Piggy Banks, Vinod Kumar Shukla, translated by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Westland, 2024), Shukla poignantly represents the condition of divasis. These two poems are also untitled. In the first one, Shukla writes about the commodification of adivasi culture for the consumption of an urban audience:

You don’t see adivasis dancing

You see them being made to dance

Their houses are not

the houses they live in

Their houses are there to be displayed

In the 2019 essay, “Eating heritage: caste, colonialism, and the contestation of adivasi creativity”, social justice and education scholar Dia Da Costa argues that “optimistic global creative economy discourses actually rely upon caste and colonial histories to entrench caste-based definitions of heritage within international and national development regimes.”

The global cultural economy, with its development agenda and its rituals of funding and patronage, enforces definitions of adivasi or tribal culture that reaffirm caste hierarchies.

At the so-called adivasi or tribal fairs and exhibitions in different cities of India, the adivasis are expected to perform their traditional dances, while their food, clothes, and other cultural artefacts are on display. By subsuming these within the entertainment industry, their subversive potential is eschewed. In Shukla’s words,

For those who cannot see

they’ve put up an exhibition

of the forest in the city

This process of marginalisation is not limited to the exotic displays of Adivasi culture – it often results in real hardship and displacement. Sociologist Amita Baviskar in her 2019 essay, “Nation’s body, river’s pulse: Narratives of anti-dam politics in India”, shows that between 1947 and 1997, 50 million people were displaced in India because of development projects; of these, 8 million were adivasis.

It is a process that continues unabated. In an essay published earlier this year, scholars Roshan Varughese and Soumen Mukherjee argue: “The alienation of land in the neo-liberal or post-globalisation era similar to the colonial and post-independent period finds legitimacy under the pretext of development and the reign of power continues even now.”

For Shukla, who was born in Rajnandgaon, a small town in Chhattisgarh, and who has lived in Raipur for much of his life, Adivasi displacement is not a distant phenomenon to be read in news articles and academic papers. It is something occurring in his backyard, and it bursts through in his poem with quiet anger:

Take the adivasi

away from the forest

and he looks like

everyone else

He goes hungry

like everyone else

only the hungry

are better off

This short poem – 17 lines in the original Hindi, 19 in the English translation – ends with a devastating image of the permanent loss of Adivasi identity through displacement:

Take the adivasi

away from the forest

and he’s not an adivasi

for even a tree

In the translator’s note at the beginning of this book, Mehrotra writes how Shukla’s concern with the conditions of the Adivasi and the destruction of forests is completely unaligned with the fashionable trend of works inspired by climate change in global literature. It is something far more local, organic.

“The decimation of what is euphemistically called ‘first peoples’ is no surprise when read about in the news or in history books,” writes Mehrotra. “To come across it unexpectedly, in a different context, is to make what had been forgotten or pushed to the back of our minds, resurface once again.”

As a translator, Mehrotra has successfully transmitted this sensation to a far wider audience. His translations, as perhaps evident from the few examples in this article, are not only an exercise in the aesthetic sphere – which is undoubtedly very important – but also in the political.

To do so, in our times, is a brave choice.

Uttaran Das Gupta is a writer and a journalist.

Two Army Officers Beaten Up, Woman Raped at Picnic Spot in Madhya Pradesh

The attackers reportedly held the duo in the car hostage at gunpoint and asked the other officer to fetch Rs 10 lakh in ransom.

New Delhi: Two young Army officers were beaten up and one of their two women friends was allegedly raped by unidentified men while the group was out on a picinic in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.

The two officers, aged 23 and 24, are enrolled in the Young Officers (YO) course at the Infantry School in Mhow cantonment. They had gone to a nearby picnic spot on the Mhow-Mandleshwar road along with their friends on Tuesday night, Badgonda police station in-charge Lokendra Singh Hirore said.

Around 2 am on Wednesday, a group of six people arrived near the picnic spot and started beating up one of the officers and a female friend, who were sitting in the car, PTI reported. The other officer and the woman were on a hilltop and reached the spot upon hearing the commotion.

The attackers reportedly held the duo in the car hostage at gunpoint and asked the other officer to fetch Rs 10 lakh in ransom. The officer used this opportunity to inform his seniors at in Mhow who then alerted the police.

The attackers had escaped by the time the police team arrived.

The group was taken to Mhow civil hospital where a medical examination confirmed that one of the women had been raped.

A case has been registered under sections 70 (gangrape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under sections of the Arms Act based on the complaint filed by the officer, the Times of India reported.

Additional superintendent of police Rupesh Dwivedi told the newspaper that of the six suspects identified so far, two have been detained.

“We arrested two men. One of them has a case of loot registered against him in 2016. This was not an organised gang. They saw these young people who had gathered at a night spot and decided to attack them. One person also had a pistol on him,” Indore Rural SP Hitika Vasal said.

A Killing, Beatings, Maimings and Rape: The Extraordinary Torture of the Pardhi Community at the Hands of MP Police

The fact that the Pardhi community is criminalised has given MP Police a free reign to conduct acts of untold cruelty, involving physical torture, alleged murder and rape, and systemic coercion.

Choti Kaneri, Guna: Nine houses stand interspersed among lush green farmland at the rear end of the Choti Kaneri village in Bamori Tehsil of Guna district. These big and small structures house women and children from the Pardhi community. Adult male members are conspicuously absent. It turns out that they are either in jail or on the run, fearing arrest.

Whether criminally involved or not, the men here each face at least half a dozen cases, ranging from theft to murder. Most of these cases are unfamiliar to the men, but as members of the highly criminalised Pardhi caste, they are aware that the state machinery will not spare any of them.

On July 13, however, the men had all returned to the village. It was a special evening – 24-year-old Deva Pardhi was set to marry his childhood sweetheart, Nikita. Deva’s house was lit up, and tractors were decorated. Relatives from both within and outside the village had gathered at his house. Amid blaring music and pre-wedding haldi rituals, a large contingent of police suddenly barged in on the celebrations.

Deva’s aunt, Karpooribai, says that the family initially thought that cops wanted to take part in the feast. “Lavish meals were being cooked. Why would they want to disrupt the celebration, we wondered,” she adds.

The Pardhi household. Photo: Sukanya Shantha.

But the police, who the families identified as cops of the nearby Jhagar police chowki, soon surrounded the house. The team comprised male officers, all armed. As the family and guests scattered in panic, the police began indiscriminately thrashing everyone, they say. From old people to little kids, no one was spared. A six-year-old with hearing and speech impairment was beaten and his arm was broken.

Deva was taken into custody, and his uncle Gangaram Pardhi, who tried to reason with the police by explaining that Deva was about to get married in a few hours, was also picked up.

It was around 4:30 pm when Deva and Gangaram were taken to the Jhagar police chowki. The family members and others who had gathered for the wedding soon followed the police to the Jhagar police chowki.

In time, other Pardhi villagers too arrived at the police station, only to see Deva slouched at one corner, the turmeric on his face now mixed with his blood. Commotion broke. An FIR was registered against the family members for “obstructing the police”.

The emotionally-charged villagers insisted that Deva be allowed to at least marry. “They rebuked us and used filthy language against Deva and his young bride. Asked us if we also wanted to have the suhaagraat (wedding night) celebrated at the police station,” a relative says.

Left, Deva Pardhi on the day of his wedding, much before police arrived. Right, Deva Pardhi at the police station – his photo was clicked by one of his relatives who had arrived at the police station demanding his release.

A custodial death

The men were held up at the Jhagar police chowki for a brief while. Cops from three chowkis – Jhagar, Myana and Ruthiyai – were involved in the operation. The duo was violently thrashed before being sent ahead to Myana police chowki, around 40 kilometres away. The family says police did not take the two to the functional police station but an old one that had long since been deserted.

Here, Deva and Gangaram were both tied up, hung from the ceiling, their faces covered tightly with black cloths and beaten up mercilessly. The police threw hot water on their faces while continuing to beat them. Gangaram’s wife Shalini tells The Wire that iron rods were inserted into their anuses and some liquid, which she suspects was petrol, was also poured.

As the thrashing continued overnight, Deva died.

“Even when his lifeless body was hung to the ceiling, the police suspected he was ‘acting dead’. So, they took a pincher and pulled his flesh out from his thigh. Deva didn’t flinch,” Karpooribai says. The police panicked and fearing that Gangaram would die too, finally stopped beating him. By then his limbs and head were severely injured.

By the night of July 13, according to Gangaram, Deva had died and his body was kept in the Guna civil hospital morgue. But the family was not informed, he says. They found out only when a man working as a sweeper at the hospital identified Deva and informed a community leader. The family reached the hospital along with Deva’s fiancé, Nikita. When the police refused to give information about his death, Nikita tried to immolate herself. The young woman has since been in shock and is undergoing treatment in Delhi.

On July 16, several emotionally charged women from the community gathered outside the collector’s office seeking justice. Unable to contain their anger, a few women had removed their clothes as a mark of protest. A case was registered against the protesting women.

This is the second FIR against the family members – just because they demanded justice.

‘Punishment’ for cops

Gangaram was finally produced before a magistrate court on July 15, over 40 hours after he was picked up. Seeing his condition and the fact that Deva was already dead, the magistrate Nitendra Singh Tomar refused to send Gangaram to police custody. He ordered for a medical check-up and Gangaram was subsequently hospitalised. Tomar later was assigned as the judicial magistrate to inquire into the illegal detention and custodial torture of the two.

Hansurabai with her son Deva Pardhi’s photo. Photo: Sukanya Shantha

It has been close to two months since Deva was picked up from his residence right before his wedding ceremony and killed in police custody. The police men and women involved in picking him, placing him in illegal custody, killing him and mercilessly torturing Gangaram have all been identified both by the family and most importantly by Gangaram, who along with being a victim of the crime, is also a prime witness. The state administration, however, have so far only “transferred” the responsible police personnel from a police station to the head office – a posting considered to be a “punishment” as cops at the head office can no longer make easy money by taking bribes. Among those transferred are Sanjit Singh Mavai, Devraj Singh Parihar and Uttam Singh Kushwaha.

‘Unknown perpetrators’

Last week, following the judicial magistrate’s report, a first information report was finally registered but against “unknown policemen”. This, the police claim was done as Gangaram and his family were not able to name the murderers but had only identified them by the “stars” on their uniforms. The Wire checked this with family members and they claim that this is not entirely true. Some policemen, they claim, were already known to the family owing to past cases against other family members. Also, the stars on the uniform are enough to identify the policemen.

“After all, how many three and two star cops are attached to one police station?” asks Hansurabai, Deva’s mother.

Besides those three policemen who were transferred, the family has identified other policemen, including Vikas Munshi from Myana police chowki, Rajendra Singh Chouhan, Santosh Tiwari and Bunty from Jhagar police chowki, and Subdivisional Police Officer Deepa Dodve. No action has been initiated against any of them.

The FIR mentions three sections – 105, 115 (2) and 3 (5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita for “culpable homicide not amounting to murder”, “voluntarily causing hurt” and “common intention”. The crucial sections of murder and those under The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) have not been applied. The classification of the Pardhi community across Madhya Pradesh is inconsistent, with the community categorised as a Scheduled Caste in some districts and Scheduled Tribe in other. In Guna district, the community is classified as SC.

The police’s crime did not end here.

One of Deva’s relatives, who was present at the wedding, was allegedly raped by a policeman. This happened as family members ran for their lives. “I was pinned down by a policeman in a room and he raped me,” the woman tells The Wire during a visit to the village last week. She knew her rapist. Rajendra Singh Chouhan, a cop attached to the Ruthiyai police chowki, has allegedly harassed her in the past too, on many occasions. No action has been taken against Rajendra.

‘Enough tragedy’

Every time the woman mustered the courage to report the incident to the police, a new tragedy has struck.

Two weeks ago, Deva’s elder brother Sindvaj, depressed by the police’s attitude and certain that the men responsible for killing his brother would never be punished, hanged himself.

“This house has seen enough tragedy already. This one family has lost three brothers (the eldest died in a road accident in March) in less than six months. Even after their death, we don’t expect the state to do much. Where do I stand a chance?” the woman tells this reporter. The rape survivor is also worried that more cases will be slapped against the men and the police might sexually abuse other female members of the family if she comes forward.

Soon after Deva’s death, as per procedure laid down under Section 176 (1A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a judicial magistrate inquiry was set up. Sources in the Madhya Pradesh state home department have confirmed that magistrate Tomar has meticulously recorded Gangaram’s statement, along with those of Deva’s mother Hansurabai and other members present at the house on the day of the wedding. The postmortem report too establishes that Deva died due to the injuries inflicted all over his body, as against the police’s flimsy claim of “death due to heart attack”.

Gangaram’s statement too matches the circumstantial evidence that the magistrate has gathered over the course of his inquiry, a senior official from the state home department, who is privy to the inquiry, told The Wire. For instance, although Deva and Gangaram were picked up by Jhagar police chowki, they were taken to an old structure where Myana police chowki once existed. This old police station, people say, is used as a torture site. Suspects are illegally detained here, tortured and moved to the actual police station only days later. The structure doesn’t have CCTV cameras, a mandatory equipment in all police stations, and the police don’t make any diary entry of persons brought there for questioning.

Sources in the home department share that when Tomar asked the police to produce CCTV footage, they could not. They were also unable to explain the many serious injuries on Deva and Gangaram’s body. While section 176 (1A) of the CrPC mandates inquiry in cases of death and rape in custody, sources say the magistrate has expanded the scope of his inquiry and has also included the torture inflicted on Gangaram in the inquiry report. The judicial magistrate’s inquiry report was submitted to the home department on August 23.

‘Was to be an encounter, Atrocity law gets tricky’

So even after damning judicial magistrate, why have the police not arrested those involved in the murder?

The answer lies in the attitude of the state machinery towards the Pardhi community and several other nomadic communities that have been historically wronged and continue to be highly criminalised. This reporter met Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Yuvraj Singh Chouhan, who was assigned the job of inquiring into the allegations levelled against his subordinate police. Along with openly airing his biases against the community and repeatedly addressing them as “criminal tribes”, Yuvraj Singh also claimed that the police had originally wanted to kill Deva and Gangaram in a staged “encounter”. “But then they are from reserved caste groups. We can handle other sections but the Atrocity law gets tricky,” he nonchalantly claimed before this reporter. The conversation between the officer and this reporter has been audio recorded.

Gangaram in police custody. Photo: By arrangement.

Gangaram, an able-bodied person at the time when he was arrested, is in a wheelchair now. He is unable to walk anymore; his legs have large open wounds and one of his hands are broken. Even though visibly injured – and it is amply clear that the injuries were all inflicted while he was in custody – he has been taken into custody multiple times in the past two months. The courts have denied him bail on at least two occasions. The police claim he has 17 cases pending against him, involving theft, dacoity, attempt to murder, illegal liquor and drugs. Deva, the police claim, was wanted in seven cases – all of robbery.

Lawyers refuse access to papers

As the criminalisation of the community continues, almost every family has a local lawyer or two permanently working for them. The lawyers are evidently in cahoots with the police but families say they have no choice. One lawyer named Bhoop Narayan who is appearing for Gangaram has refused the family access to any legal papers. He neither informs them about pending cases, nor speaks to them of the legal strategy he will adopt. “But what choice do we have?” Gangaram’s wife Shalini asks.

Since the murder, several human rights organisations have rallied to support the family in their fight for justice. Advocate Tasvir Parmar from the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project, a Bhopal-based organisation that works closely with tribes facing criminalisation, shared that he and his colleagues are working to secure reliable local legal representation. “We are also in the process of filing a writ petition in the high court to demand a fair investigation,” Parmar told The Wire.

Similarly, members of the Shahri Mazdur Sangathan, a collective that has long supported the Pardhi community, have been assisting the families in rebuilding their shattered lives. With all the male members of Hansurabai’s family already deceased, the women are left to fend for themselves and their young children. The collective recently helped her secure a small relief fund from the district collector.

Shivani Taneja, a member of the collective, emphasised that nearly every individual in the community has experienced police brutality and human rights violations at some point in their lives. The real question, however, is whether the state is willing to listen to their stories – and take action.

150 People Booked for Rioting Over Rumours of Stone-Pelting During Ganesh Chaturthi: MP Police

Following the incident of stone-pelting, nearly 500 people gheraoed Station Road police station on and demanded action against an unidentified person who threw the stone said officials.

New Delhi: Communal tension erupted in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam after a mob went berserk over alleged stone-pelting at a Ganesh Chaturthi procession on Saturday (September 7) night, police said.

Following the incident of stone-pelting, nearly 500 people gheraoed Station Road police station on and demanded action against an unidentified person who threw the stone said officials.

The police said that investigation so far has not confirmed any stone-pelting on the Ganesh idol, reported The Times of India.

While officials said that the situation is under control, heavy security was deployed at important places in the city, reported The Indian Express.

The first incident of stone-pelting allegedly took place in the Mochipura area of Ratlam when some people were carrying an idol for installation as part Ganesh Chaturthi procession.

The police had received a complaint that somebody was injured as a result of stone-pelting near the pandal area.

“An FIR was registered against unknown persons in connection with this case, “said Superintendent of Police Rahul Kumar Lodha, reported The Indian Express.

As the police rushed to the spot for investigation, someone threw a stone again and stone-pelting started which led to damage to a police vehicle and the cops had to use force to disperse the crowd.

The police said that an FIR has been registered against 13 named individuals and 150 others for the rioting and sloganeering in the night, reported The Times of India.

“No idol was destroyed in the alleged stone-pelting. We will look into allegations that some people were injured in stone pelting and are looking into CCTV footage to ascertain the same,” said SP Lodha, reported The Indian Express.

Opposition Slams Madhya Pradesh BJP Govt Over Rape of Woman on Ujjain Footpath

While the incident took place on Wednesday (September 4), at a busy intersection on a footpath in Koyla Phatak, onlookers filmed the crime but did not intervene.

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing criticism from the opposition in Madhya Pradesh after a woman was raped on a busy footpath in Ujjain on Wednesday, in an incident that onlookers filmed instead of coming to her aid.

Police officials said they arrested one Lokesh, whom the woman named in her complaint. On Saturday (September 8), they also arrested an autorickshaw driver named Mohammad Salim for allegedly filming the incident, the Indian Express reported.

They said that while the incident took place on Wednesday on a footpath in the city’s busy Koyla Phatak intersection, onlookers filmed it but did not intervene.

“Yesterday, at around 3:30 pm, a woman came to the police station and reported that she had been raped. Immediately a woman officer was called and her story was heard and an FIR was registered after informing the senior officers,” Mishra was quoted as saying on Thursday by the Express.

Mishra said that the woman had named the accused, Lokesh, who was subsequently arrested and admitted to the crime, the newspaper reported.

“Apart from this, the statement of the woman was also recorded before the court today. In which the woman has confirmed the incident of rape before the court… A video of this incident was also made which also came to police, we have taken it as evidence,” Mishra said.

Police said that the accused Lokesh had allegedly promised to “marry her” and raped her after making her drink liquor.

On Saturday, the Express reported that police invoked Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections relating to disclosing the identity of victims of certain offences and capturing images of a woman engaging in a private act against Salim, apart from provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act.

PTI quoted Om Prakash Mishra, the Kotwali area’s city superintendent of police, as saying on Friday that the cops had “identified three to four suspects who shot a video of the incident and made it viral”.

All of them were at different locations, Mishra added.

The opposition has hit out at the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government, with leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi saying that the incident in Ujjain is a “blot on humanity”.

“The continuously increasing crimes against women and the attitude of the police administration towards the victim and her family is a proof of the cruelty of the system and is a matter of serious concern for the country,” he said in a statement on X.

“Propaganda-centric governments have given birth to an insensitive system to create a false image of themselves, the biggest victims of which are women.”

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that the incident showed how the country had become a “nation of mobile holding, video recording bystanders as well as social media viral content creators & outrage warriors.”

“Who will step up and involve themselves to stop a crime, too messy and so old fashioned,” she wrote on X.

Madhya Pradesh BJP chief V.D. Sharma has hit back at the Congress and said that the grand old party has “no issues” to corner the Madhya Pradesh government.

“Congress party has no issues to corner the Madhya Pradesh government and that’s why they try to give such a tone to the incident…The BJP government is the first government to introduce a law to give the death penalty to the perpetrators of these kinds of incidents…The accused has been arrested and the state government will ensure that strict action is taken against them,” he said to reporters.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari however said that the BJP should avoid allegations and counter-allegations and look at the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data on crimes against women in the state.

“Rape happened on the road in the Chief Minister’s constituency, in Ujjain a girl was roaming around the whole area soaked in blood, the police did not notice. The Jabalpur incident in which the hostel video of the sisters went viral on social media. All this is the story of Madhya Pradesh. If the citizens of the country and the state, Congress will not do this, then who will? VD Sharma should avoid allegations and counter-allegations and take cognizance of the figures and make corrections,” he said.

This article was updated on September 8 with news of Mohammad Salim’s arrest.

In MP, Three Dalit Youths of a Single Family Are Dead. How Has the Police Responded?

A fact-finding report has pointed out the implicit bias that had characterised police action since the family’s very ﬁrst complaint in 2019 against assault, threats and torture by dominant caste groups.

On May 25, 2024, Anjana Ahirwar, a 20-year-old Dalit woman, mysteriously “fell” to her death as she was returning with the body of her 26-year-old uncle Rajendra Ahirwar – murdered in a brutal attack orchestrated by the dominant “lambardars” of Baraudiya Naunagir. This was the third death in the same family of Dalit labourers within 10 months. Anjana was at the forefront of the family’s struggle for justice in the murder of her younger brother Nitin and her uncle, Rajendra Ahirwar.

A fact-ﬁnding report released by a citizens group of Madhya Pradesh in July 2024 – to which this author belongs – highlighted how the police and Madhya Pradesh government continuously deprived this family of Dalit labourers their right to justice, how Sagar police hurriedly closed the investigation into Anjana’s death, and concluded that Anjana purportedly jumped to her death. The police’s conclusion has been indignantly rejected by Anjana’s family. Anjana’s mother asks, “Why would Anjana, who was fearlessly ﬁghting for justice for her murdered brother all the way to the Supreme Court, give up her own life?”

Sagar (MP): Baraudiya Naunagir village of Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh is part of Bundelkhand – a region of Madhya Pradesh with a long history of feudal oppression, one which continues to be in the news for atrocities against Dalits in recent years as well. Sagar, is an important centre of political power in the state; and is home to three prominent ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leaders and former ministers, like Gopal Bhargava, Bhupendra Singh, and Govind Singh Rajput.

The “lambardars” (a term dating from colonial times to denote village elites) of Baraudiya Naunagir – the Thakurs – reportedly own 1000 bighas of land (~630 acres), and most labourers must work on their ﬁelds when called for. They dominate village proceedings and decision-making, their inﬂuence strengthened by their close familial ties to Khurai MLA, Bhupendra Singh. Bhupendra Singh is an inﬂuential BJP leader who has earlier been a cabinet minister in the Shivraj Singh government.

In contrast, Anjana’s family own about 3.5 acres of land. Her father, Raghuvir Ahirwar worked as a security guard in Pithampur, Dhar. Her brothers Vishnu and Nitin Ahirwar often migrated to ﬁnd better work in cities, unlike others in the village who worked for the Thakurs as and when the lambardars demanded. Anjana was a bright second-year undergraduate student. At the time of her death she was 20 years old. She was leading her family’s struggle against the gruesome murders of her brother in 2023 and her uncle this year – but her struggle against the stiﬂing dominance of the lambardars began back when she was just 15 years old.

What happened in Baraudiya Naunagir?

In January 2019, Vishnu had returned to the village after working in Bhopal for two years.

“After working outside, I managed to earn much more than I could have in the village. I was wearing new clothes and new shoes that I had bought from the city, and they (the Thakurs) did not like it. They took me to the village market, slapped me in public and made me touch their feet,” he says.

Vishnu Ahirwar was slapped and made to touch the feet of Azad Thakur, Vishal Thakur, and others in the village market.

Days after this, Anjana was allegedly assaulted and molested by Azad Thakur, Pushpendra Thakur, Chotu Raikwar, and Vishal Thakur. Anjana managed to get an FIR registered against the lambardars – however, sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act were not added, despite the oral complaint of molestation by the 15-year-old. A minor case related to assault and intimidation was registered, but no arrests were made.

However, there were material repercussions for Anjana’s family. “Since then, whenever a theft or crime happened in the village they would accuse us of it, in retaliation,” says Badi Bahu, Anjana’s mother.

She narrated an incident where Anjana’s younger brother Nitin, was illegally detained in police custody and beaten up.

Nitin’s mother, Badi Bahu was injured while trying to protect her son – she suflered injuries on both arms, while her right arm was broken. Photo: Screengrab from a Dainik Bhaskar video.

“Lalu (Nitin) was working in Indore had returned to celebrate Holi. One evening, the police suddenly came to our house and took Lalu away, without telling us anything. He was kept at the police station for two-three days. When I tried to see him, the police would abuse me and send me away. When they released him, they threatened us, saying that if we tried to complain, Nitin would rot in jail for the rest of his life.”

Nitin was just 16 years old then, and had bruises on his feet when he was released. Badi Bahu submitted complaints to the Superintendent of Police, Sagar, and Inspector General of Police, Sagar, but no action was taken.

In August 2023, in another display of the lambardars’ hegemony, the family said that 18-year-old Nitin was brutally assaulted by the Thakurs and their men in the village market. Badi Bahu tried to protect him, but was attacked too – “When I arrived on the spot, lambardars and their men had surrounded Nitin, and were continuously beating him. I took him away from them, but they surrounded us again…When I tried to protect him, they beat me and disrobed me, and my arm was broken. Still, I tried to shield him, but they shoved me away, dragged him onto the road and mercilessly beat him with lathis.”

Komal Singh Thakur, Vikram Thakur, Azad Thakur, Ankit Singh Thakur, and other men who work for the Thakurs, beat him to death, the family said. Upon Anjana’s complaint, an FIR was registered against Vikram Thakur, Vijay Thakur, Azad Thakur, Komal Thakur, Lalu Khan, Islam Khan, Golu Soni, Nafees Khan, Wahid Khan and three or fourth other accused.

Despite multiple complaints made by Anjana, – the most important of which was submitted on August 25, 2023, the day after Nitin’s murder – naming Ankit Singh Thakur, a prominent local BJP leader as one of the main assailants, his name was not added in the FIR, the family said.

According to Nitin Ahirwar’s post-mortem report, the cause of Nitin’s death was “multiple injuries sustained over body”. Nitin had 29 serious injuries on his head and body.

The said complaint also asked that police safeguard the CCTV footage obtained from the spot where Nitin was murdered – however, according to the police chargesheet, the DVR housing with the footage had been destroyed by the mob during the attack. The family did manage to obtain the footage – which shows the beginning of the assault, along with a number of people not named in the police chargesheet – however, the police have not taken cognisance of it.

While the police did arrest a number of people after Nitin’s death, one of the most prominent men in the village – Komal Singh Thakur – was arrested right before the chargesheet was presented in court.

Still from the CCTV footage of Nitin being attacked by village lambardars – the Thakurs and their men. Badi Bahu can be seen shielding Nitin.

On the day of the attack on Nitin, lambardars and their men attacked the homes of Nitin and Rajendra Ahirwar. Anjana and Nitin’s family had all of their belongings completely destroyed – their pet parrot was killed and a horse which they owned was injured, and ultimately died. None of these incidents made their way into the chargesheet. When questioned about the exclusion of these facts, including the incident of Badi Bahu being disrobed, the police denied that any such complaint was made.

Komal Singh Thakur, maintains close ties with Khurai MLA Bhupendra Singh, and was appointed the mantri pratindhi – representative of the minister at the Khurai Krishi Mandi.

Scenes after the attack in Nitin and Anjana’s home. Photo: Screengrab from a Dainik Bhaskar video.

Ramsevak Ahirwar, Rajendra’s father, was present when the mob forcibly entered his home. “Lambardars and their men entered our house, searching for Rajendra. When I told them he was not home, they beat me and injured my leg – I couldn’t walk for two months. They trashed our belongings too. I am telling you this – if they had found Rajendra that day, he would have been murdered too,” he said.

Rajendra was not afraid of anyone, his grandmother recalled. He was a key witness in Nitin’s murder case and was poised to depose against the Thakurs when the matter came up this year. Rajendra received constant threats from the Thakurs and their family members to turn hostile, and depose in favour of the Thakurs, but he always refused.

Rajendra Ahirwar’s home was also trashed, and his father was assaulted – the family did not make a complaint out of fear for their lives.

Weeks before he was to testify in Nitin’s murder trial, Rajendra was attacked with axes and lathis in the home of Pappu Rajak – an aide of the Thakurs. Critically injured, he was referred from the local Khurai hospital to Sagar district hospital and then to Bhopal, but he died on the way. The family also believes his treatment was delayed deliberately: he was sent from Khurai to Sagar – 52 kilometres away – at around 9 pm, but was only referred from Sagar to Bhopal (170 kms) by 2-3 am.

It was clear to Anjana and her family that Rajendra had been killed because of his refusal to testify in their favour; in one of her last statements to the media, she said, originally in Hindi:

“Uncle Rajendra was a witness in the 302-murder case. Israel Khan, whose sons Golu and Lalu Khan, who are in jail, threatened him (Rajendra) to turn hostile and testify in their favour in Nitin’s murder case, and threatened to kill him if he did not do so. Around 8:45 at night, I phoned my uncle, and heard a lot of commotion at the other end. Uncle said, ‘Anju, these people are beating me,’ he mentioned some names and said that a ﬁght has broken out. Then they broke his mobile. I then called my uncle Mohan Ahirwar, his son Vikas Ahirwar and Machla, and they went to where Rajendra was. They said that Israel Khan, Ashiq Qureshi, Tantu Qureshi, Faheem Khan, and Bablu Khan were attacking Rajendra. We informed the police.

“We had reported threats against us, the police had registered an FIR, I don’t know what action they took. Ashiq Qureshi said that we will kill you, we will chop you to pieces, we will slit your throat to pieces for reporting against us, and that is what they did.If the government had demolished the houses of the accused in my brother’s murder, if proper action had been taken against them, Rajendra chacha would have been alive today, he would still be with us…”

After Rajendra’s post-mortem, Anjana, along with Rajendra’s parents – Ramsevak and Bhagwati Bai – were returning to their village with Rajendra’s body, accompanied by a policeman. However, Anjana mysteriously fell out of the ambulance, eventually succumbing to the injuries from the fall.

Anjana’s death, the very next day after the brutal murder of Rajendra – along with the fact that she was the complainant in Nitin’s murder and a key witness in the murder of Nitin and Rajendra created waves across the state.

Congress leader Digivijaya Singh, claimed that Rajendra and Anjana were witnesses to Nitin’s murder and did not succumb to the pressure of the lambardars, which is why they were killed. State Congress chief Jitu Patwari claimed that they would approach the high court to get a CBI enquiry initiated in the matter.

Meanwhile, MLA Bhupendra Singh tried to downplay and trivialise the matter of Rajendra’s murder as a mere conﬂict between two parties, going as far as to accuse Anjana’s family of criminal tendencies, he said: “Anjana Ahirwar’s deceased relative had a criminal background…According to police records, Rajendra Ahirwar terrorised the village and was involved in criminal activities at the behest of Imran Khan.”

He said, “Congress politicises deaths. The mastermind of the Baraudiya Naunagir case is Imran Khan. Imran was the one who made the deceased’s family commit all these crimes. Imran has murder cases against him. People here are troubled by his terror. Imran has used the deceased’s family.”

He said that the entire CDR of this case should be extracted. “Those who have instigated that girl should be charged”.

It must be noted here that Imran had earlier been associated with the BJP as well. In fact, Bhupendra Singh himself has sent a letter to Imran in 2017, congratulating him on being chosen as the BJP Khurai Grameen Alpsankhyak Mandal chief. But a few years ago, there was a rift.

Bhupendra Singh had previously met the family after Nitin’s murder too. When Anjana asked him bulldoze the homes of the accused, the then Minister of Urban Housing and Development said, “What is the basis for demolishing houses? Fights, disputes and murders happen every day…which law allows us to demolish houses? In case of a crime like rape, or if it is the house of some maﬁa, meaning if a heinous crime has been committed, only then we demolish houses. Legally we cannot demolish houses. Now the high court has put a stay on it as well…Consider that 10 people live in a house. If one of them is an accused, then what is the crime of the other nine? The house belongs to the 10 does it not? Legally we cannot demolish houses.”

Afterwards, the family was told to stop pursuing the matter of Nitin’s murder and was handed a typed “press statement” to be made to the press, stating that “the family was satisﬁed with administration’s actions.” However, Anjana refused to make such a statement. The family was repeatedly pressurised to compromise, but Anjana continued her pursuit of justice, going as far as the high court to oppose the bail of the accused in Nitin’s murder. The family has also accused Bhupendra Singh of offering them Rs two crore to stop their pursuit of the matter.

Police investigation: Guided by political interests?

MLA Bhupendra Singh’s words were echoed by the police when the fact-ﬁnding team met them. Police were eager to state that Rajendra and Nitin were of “aapraadhik pravritti” (criminal tendencies). The fact that Nitin, a child of a Dalit family of labourers, who was barely 18 at the time of his death was already termed as a habitual offender speaks volumes about Sagar police.

In July, the fact-ﬁnding team released its report, which reiterated the need for a CBI enquiry in the matter, as demanded by the family. It also pointed out the implicit bias that had characterised police action since Anjana’s very ﬁrst complaint in 2019, and questioned its ability to conduct an impartial investigation in the matter, when it was clearly unable to fend off political intrusion into the investigation. Renewed public interest in the matter was quickly ‘dealt with’, as the police hurriedly completed its’ investigation into Anjana’s death by concluding that she jumped out of the ambulance of her own accord.

The family have ﬂatly refused to accept police’s conclusion. Anjana’s mother, Badi Bahu has repeatedly asserted, “My daughter was bravely ﬁghting for justice for Lalu (Nitin). She was prepared to ﬁght all the way to the Supreme Court, how can she have given up her own life?”

Ramsevak Ahirwar, who was in the vehicle with Anjana when she allegedly fell, has repeatedly told the media that both he and his wife, Bhagwati bai were not conscious when Anjana’s fall took place – in direct contrast with the statement in police investigation, where he is said to have “seen Anjana open the gate and jump out of the vehicle.”

Members of the team sought to conﬁrm Ramsevak’s version on three separate visits, which remained unchanged; neither he nor his wife were conscious to see what happened with Anjana – “If she was to jump in front of me, wouldn’t I have stopped her? I would have caught her…She was our daughter too! She was ﬁghting for justice for all of us!” He then goes on to say, “When they were taking Anjana to the hospital, they took my wife, who is unable to hear or speak properly. They did not allow me to accompany her, otherwise I would have talked to her myself.”

All other statements of independent witnesses the police rely on have no mention of Anjana jumping out of the vehicle on her own accord. Whereas all family members unequivocally state that it was the Thakurs who had her killed.

In her last complaint, made exactly three months before her death, Anjana spoke against the constant threats she and her family were receiving from the relatives of the lambardars in prison. Anjana complained that they threatened to frame Vishnu in false charges and make him leave Sagar. Two months later, on May 3, 2024, the District Collector passed an order, externing Vishnu from Sagar district.

She also complained that the lambardars had threatened to kill more of their family members too. Two of the chief witnesses in Nitin’s murder are now dead – Rajendra was murdered, and Anjana died the very next day.

On the recommendation of Sagar Police the investigation into Anjana’s death has been closed by the SDM at Khurai. For the families of the youths who have lost their lives, there is no closure. However, Anjana’s mother remains steadfast, “We will continue to seek justice for Nitin and Anjana till our last breaths.”

Nitin Varghese works with Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, a community-led people’s organisation in south-west Madhya Pradesh.

RTI Query Denied: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department Withholds Cheetah Management Information

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey had filed a Right to Information request seeking correspondence records on Project Cheetah in Kuno and Mandsaur.

New Delhi: The Madhya Pradesh forest department has denied a request for information on the management of cheetahs brought from Africa and their cubs born in India, citing national security and foreign relations concerns, news agency PTI reported.

Wildlife activist Ajay Dubey had filed a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking correspondence records on Project Cheetah in Kuno and Mandsaur. However, the department refused to disclose the information, invoking Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act.

This section allows a public authority to withhold information if its disclosure would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, or the security, strategic, scientific, or economic interests of the State, or relations with a foreign country, or lead to the incitement of an offence.

Also read: Information Blackout on Cheetahs’ Health and Status Hurts Them, Some Experts Say Not in Loop

This is the first time information on Project Cheetah has been denied under the RTI Act since its launch in 2022. Dubey has been disclosing irregularities in big cat conservation since 2013 but has never received a response citing national security concerns. The department had previously revealed that the first cub born in India had a fractured leg.

“I have been disclosing irregularities in the conservation of big cats since 2013, but this is the first time I received a reply stating that disclosure of information about cheetahs will affect national security or relations with foreign countries,” Dubey was quoted as saying by PTI.

In response to a prior RTI request filed by Dubey regarding the health of India’s first cheetah cub, the department disclosed that the cub had suffered a fractured right leg on November 28, the report mentioned.

Meanwhile, the government plans to introduce cheetahs into a fenced area in the Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary by the end of the year, focusing on breeding. A proposal for a cheetah conservation breeding centre in Gujarat’s Banni grasslands was cleared by the Central Zoo Authority in February. The long-term goal is to establish a metapopulation of cheetahs in the Kuno-Gandhisagar landscape.

The cheetah conservation project has faced criticism following animal deaths. On June 4, park authorities found a cheetah cub born on Indian soil dead in its enclosure in Kuno. The cub became the 11th cheetah to die in Kuno, and the fourth cub to die in the National Park. Three cubs (born in the first ever cheetah litter in India) had died in May last year due to “heat stress”, as per official records, at less than two months of age.

At present, Kuno is home to 26 cheetahs and 13 cubs, as part of Project Cheetah, the second Modi government’s ambitious cheetah reintroduction programme.

MP Convent School Principal’s Directive to Deliver Speech in English Leads to ABVP Protest, FIR

Based on the complaint of an ABVP member, an FIR was registered against Catherine Vatolly under section 196 (promoting enmity between religious groups) and 299 (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings) of BNS (Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita).

Bhopal: An FIR has been registered against a school Principal in Guna district of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh after the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – held a protest against her for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

Designated as a school principal at the Vandana Convent School, Sister Catherine Vatolly directed a student to deliver a speech in English as instructed to students earlier.

However, controversy erupted when a Hindi daily newspaper “Patrika” on July 20 published a news report with the headline “Convent school main Hindi Bolne par bachhon ke hath se cheena mic (Mic snatched from students for speaking Hindi in convent school).”

The article went on with, “A child recited a shloka from Gita- Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Niramaya… On hearing this, the school’s principal, Catherine, got angry. She snatched the mic from that child and said that the shloka of Gita would not be recited here,” reads the piece.

Consequently, the Kotwali Police Station on July 22 registered an FIR against Catherine Vatolly under section 196 (promoting enmity between religious groups) and 299 (deliberate act to outrage religious feelings) of BNS (Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita).

‘Students were to deliver speeches at assembly’

A senior staff of the school, John Matthews (name changed), denied the allegations against the school principal, terming them ‘baseless and absurd’. He informed The Wire that there was an oath-taking ceremony of the student’s cabinet on July 13 (Saturday), and the newly elected house captains were instructed to prepare a speech in English to deliver in Monday’s assembly.

“It was a routine assembly day at school on July 15 (Monday). Out of the four house captains, two were asked to deliver speeches to showcase their leadership skills. When one of the students began his speech in Hindi, Sister Catherine reminded him of the earlier instruction to deliver a speech in English. It was a normal directive. Unprepared to continue in English, the student left the stage and returned to his class. The incident appeared unremarkable at the time with no immediate consequences,” stated Matthews.

On July 20, “Patrika” reported the incident, noting that Hindu outfits planned to approach the district collector. Subsequently, information emerged that a group intended take out a rally towards the school on July 22.

“A mob of 70-80 people arrived, chanting slogans for two and a half hours under the watch of police and administration. Some protesters went to the Kotwali Thana where a third party registered an FIR that came to our attention in the evening. Notably, neither the children on stage nor their parents filed any complaints. It is possible other children mentioned the incident at home, but the two involved did not,” Matthews informed.

The FIR registered in the case alleges that Sister Catherine’s actions have hurt Hindu religious sentiments.

“Sister Catherine’s labeling of a Gita shloka as poetry has hurt our Hindu religious sentiments and caused psychological distress to the students. Sister Catherine’s actions have sown seeds of discord in the minds of the students, leading to hurt feelings among Hindu students and the general public,” the FIR lodged by an ABVP member reads.

Allegations of religious insensitivity

The Wire spoke to the Saksham Dubey, an ABVP member and the complainant in the case who claimed that many of his relatives study in the school and they complained to him about the incident.

“The student was barred from speaking Hindi and interrupted while reciting a “Shloka,” which was mislabelled as “shayri,” offending our religious sentiments. A Principal from another religion managing a school with 90% Hindu students should understand Hindu traditions. If not, their appointment is problematic. The management should consider someone proficient in Hindi and familiar with the Hindu community,” said Dubey.

Vandana Convent School, a Christian Missionary school managed exclusively by sisters is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

No such incident has occurred on campus since its establishment in 1974 as the first English medium school in Guna. This is the first time a mass protest against its staff has taken place.

Online videos reveal slogans, intimidation by ABVP members

In a video circulated online, ABVP members could be seen creating a ruckus outside the school premises in the presence of police and administration. Men in the video can be seen insulting and misbehaving with Principal Sister Vatolly (principal), shouting and pointing fingers at her.

In MP’s Guna, Hindutva leaders on Monday barged into premises of a school to protest and forced the police to file FIR against principal Catherine Vatolly for directing students to speak English.Hindi newspaper misreported that students were prevented from reciting Shloka. pic.twitter.com/iIBrr8ac5U

— Waquar Hasan (@WaqarHasan1231) July 23, 2024

One of the men shouts, “Hum ko ye bhi gyat hai jo usne Hindi mein bola tha apko usse apatti hui (We know you had objections on what he said in Hindi),” “ye pracharya ko shloka aur shayri mein antar hi nahi pata. Shloka ko shayri bol rahi hain ye (This principal does not know the difference between shloka and shayri).”

In another viral video on social media, members of the ABVP urged the students to join them in chanting and raising slogans of, “Jai Sri Ram (Glory be to Lord Ram) after they barged into the school premises.”

ABVP members didn’t stop there. After barging into the school campus and forcing the principal to apologize, they urged some school kids to join them and chant “Jai Shri Ram.” https://t.co/DYe8hBiBn1 pic.twitter.com/sIm3um6XHF

— Prateek Goyal (@tweets_prateekg) July 24, 2024

“I believe in promoting a multilingual society. However, if parents choose an English medium school for their children, English should be the primary language of instruction. The ABVP’s insistence on using Hindi seems more about promoting Hindutva than about education. Educational institutions are being used for political gain, with little regard for the needs and interests of students. This politicisation of schools is detrimental to the quality of education and the well-being of the children,” said educationist and activist Shivani.

Staff defends school

Matthews said that the police provided protection, but the administration and district education authorities were present but seemed helpless.

“The FIR alleges hurting religious sentiments and banning Hindi, which is implausible in a Hindi-speaking region. The school follows government guidelines. Despite being in a remote area, our school has a strong reputation, with many alumni in top positions both in India and abroad. This success reflects the school’s quality and the reason parents choose our institution over others. Parents choose this English medium school for its nominal fees and quality education. If we didn’t teach in English, they wouldn’t enroll their children here. This makes education accessible to all children in the city,” said Matthews.

ABVP members protesting against the school principal. Photo: Special arrangement

Newslaundry quoted Piyush Mishra, district coordinator of ABVP, saying “The principal has been involved in anti-national activities for the last many years. They have been humiliating the Hindu religion.”

“What exactly defines “anti-national”? Sister Catherine was appointed school Principal only a month back. It is problematic to label a school Principal as engaging in anti-national activities without clear definitions or evidence. On the day of chaos, the school was running its regular schedule, including monthly tests. Our mission is to educate and shape students’ character. We correct and guide them when needed,” said Matthews, responding to the ABVP’s allegations.

Controversy and threats

ABVP member and complainant Dubey said, “We knew of the issue before it was reported. The school’s mistake was denying the allegations instead of apologising, which could have resolved the situation. The Principal never acknowledged the mistake or apologised. We did not surround the school but organised a peaceful protest with VHP and ABVP. After waiting for hours without the school gates opening, the ABVP warned the school and then jumped over the gate. There was no mistreatment of the staff, and students remained undisturbed and enthusiastic.”

The Newslaundry report quotes Principal Catherine Vatolly saying that the ABVP insisted that she appologises in Hindi.

“Despite my explanation that I intended to improve student’s language skills, not to offend anyone’s religious sentiments. But if anyone was hurt, I am sorry. When I said this, they were asking to say maaf kardo instead of sorry.”

A man associated to Hindutva organization can be heard saying in a video, “Esi gatividhiyon ke liye jo Vandana Convent chal raha hai na. 24 ghante bhi nahi lagenge. Ismein tala lag jaega. Band kara dunga. Idhar jo chalega vo Hindu sanskriti hai. Yahan sarve Bhavantu sukhinah hi hoga. Apki prayer mein bhi esi koi chiz aati ho to usko bhi vidhyarthi …(sic)… change karwaega. Uske school ki ek ek chiz change karwaega. Aur nahin hoti hai to us par tala dal jaega… (sic)… Dhyan rakhna. Idhar ap apni manmaani mat chalaiye. Idhar sanskriti chalega. Apko letter nikalna padega apne vidhartiyon ke lye pratidin yahan Sarve Bhvantu Suukinah hi hoga.

(Vandana Convent School is being run for such activities. We will close it down in less than 24 hours. I will lock it up. Only Hindu culture will prevail here. It will be “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah” here. If anything contrary appears in your prayer, it will be changed. Every aspect of the school will be changed. If it isn’t, it will be locked up. Keep this in mind. Do not enforce your whims here. Only our culture will prevail. You will have to issue a letter stating that ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ will be recited here every day by your students.)”

“Educational institutions must be held accountable for mistakes. As part of our commitment to societal betterment, we protested after the administration failed to act for two days. We sought a direct conversation with the principal to prevent such incidents in the future and ensure the smooth operation of the school,” said ABVP member and complainant Dubey.

(This scribe attempted to reach out to officials via phone calls. They either disconnected or did not pick up.)

‘Insensitivity’: Madhya Pradesh HC Raps Probe Officer For Not Appearing Before Court for 12 Years

The court has fined the state government Rs 1 lakh and instructed the Director General of Police to investigate the issue, according to a report by Indian Express.

New Delhi: An investigating officer did not appear before a special court for the last 12 years leading to the Madhya Pradesh high court to say that it was “nothing but insensitivity on the part of the police department,” Indian Express has reported.

The court has fined the state government Rs 1 lakh and instructed the Director General of Police to investigate the issue.

Investigating officer Virendra Kumar Mishra, although posted as superintendent of police at Daita, failed to appear in a case relating to an alleged fake encounter, delaying the process of the court considering the case’s closure report.

The case had its roots in 2005 – nearly 20 years ago. One Vimla Devi had alleged that cops from the Dabra police station took her three sons to the police station on April 22. Two were released but a third had been kept in police custody. Khushali Ram eventually died. But Vimla, who learnt of his death from the newspaper, maintained that police had falsely represented him as a gangster “Kalia alias Brijkishore”.

Two years later, in 2007, this very Kalia was found alive in a jail at Jhansi.

Vimla accused the Datia superintendent of police M.K. Mudgal and others of killing her son.

The high court noted that a final closure report could not be considered by the special court, in the meantime, because of IO Mishra’s inability to appear before the special court since 2012.

The trial court in MP had earlier directed the state to pay Vimla Rs 20,000 for inaction over her son’s death in 2007. This amount, the high court noted, has not been paid to her till date.

“Most of the time, he remained on deputation but did not care to appear before the special court so that the learned session court could examine the closure report,” the court said.

The unending process of justice in India is a matter frequently highlighted in studies of criminal law. It is often said that it makes the process of seeking justice from court a punishment, with pretrial detainees waiting for decades for their cases to start and some disputes lasting three or four decades.