On September 28, 2020, a 32-year-old Dalit woman was working in an agricultural field in the Narsinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh, cutting grass for cattle. Three men, Arvind and Parsu Choudhury, and Anil Rai approached her in the field and then proceeded to gangrape her. According to the police, Arvind and Parsu belong to the same caste as the victim. Anil Ra'i’s caste has not been reported, though we can infer that ‘Rai’ is a title often used by Rajput castes, historically conferred upon hereditary rulers and zamindars by the Mughals as well as the British.
After the violence, the victim and her family were faced by police inaction and harassment. On the same day that she was raped, the victim and her family went to the Gotitoria police station to file an FIR. The police took a verbal complaint but did not file an FIR. The police also did not conduct a medical examination, which the police claimed would be conducted the next day. However, the police refused to file an FIR on the next day as well. This negligence was practised by assistant sub-inspector Mishrilal Kodapa, whose caste has not been reported. Fed up by the inaction at the Gotitoria police station, the victim’s family approached the Cheechli police station under which the Gotitoria police station operates. Instead of lodging an FIR, the police locked the victim’s husband and his elder brother in the lockup. The police abused the victim. According to the victim’s husband, they were held due to a complaint lodged by the accused and had to pay Rs 50,000 as a bribe in order to be released.
Distressed by the harassment and blame the victim and her family faced, the victim died by suicide on October 2, 2020.
Mishrilal Kodapa, the sub-inspector from the Gotitoria police station who refused to file an FIR,was suspended. Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rajesh Tiwari and Gadarwara Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) S R Yadav of Narsinghpur district were transferred as punishment for the harassment meted out to the victim. Tiwaris are Brahmins, and Yadavs are listed as OBC in Madhya Pradesh. According to the police, the victim further faced victim blame and humiliation from Motital, the father of rapist Arvind Choudhary. According to the police, the victim also faced harassment from another woman from her village named Leela Bai, who taunted her when she went to fetch water.
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