Badaun rape-murder case turning into a caste war

BAREILLY: Even as the National Commission for Women (NCW) team recorded the statements of the girls' family and officials, the horrific murder and rape of the sisters is threatening to turn into a caste war. Members of the aggrieved community, Mauryas, accuse the Yadavs of terrorizing and bullying them at every opportunity.

What has added fuel to the fire is that senior Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member and leader of opposition in the state assembly Swami Prasad Maurya rushed to the spot on Friday and warned of statewide agitation if the guilty are not arrested and punished.

Talking to TOI, BSP leader and Daatagunj MLA Sinod Shakya, under whose constituency the incident occurred, said, "The Mauryas have always been at the receiving end of shabby treatment at the hands of Yadavs who are the dominant caste in the area.

Under Samajwadi Party (SP) rule, the lone police outpost in the area is manned by policemen of the Yadav community who are in the practice of supporting and covering up the misdeeds of their caste brethren."

He added that the area is already facing neglect at the hands of the ruling SP government in the state and the latest incident is reflective of this mindset. Had the police constables posted at the outpost acted in time and with sensitivity, the life of the two girls would have been saved.

But they preferred to ignore the pleas of victims' family, and in fact abetted in the ghastly crime, the MLA said.

However, rubbishing all accusations of caste bias against the state government and allegations of partiality on the part of local police, Badaun MP Dharmendra Yadav, who is also the nephew of SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, said, "Even during this sensitive moment, the Bahujan Samaj Party is trying to derive political mileage by giving such statements.

The suspension of the two police constables named in the crime has been done at the level of the state chief minister, who is personally monitoring the situation. My victory from Badaun parliamentary seat is an indicator of people's faith in the SP."

An uneasy calm prevailed in the village on Friday in the aftermath of the incident, which rocked the region. A high-level team from the National Commission for Women (NCW) arrived in the village to record statements of victim's family and villagers.

Family members of the victims and local villagers said the manner in which the case was taken up by the police only emboldened 'local toughs' under the present government.

The NCW team interacted with police officials and sought details of the functioning of the department, said circle officer of Ujhani, MK Saxena, who accompanied the team.

Saxena said three of the five accused had been arrested, including policeman Sarvesh Yadav. Police teams are conducting raids at possible hideouts to nab the remaining accused, he said.