A deathly pall has descended over the village of Gopalpur, located in north-central Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. Locals, uncommonly subdued, jostle for space in the straw-and-mud hut as they attempt to comfort a bereaved man huddled in a corner. His wife, who is beyond consolation, lies alone on her wooden cot in the adjacent room, her eyes leaking tears.
On the morning of August 12, the mutilated body of the Dalit couple’s youngest child — a 14-year-old girl — was found near a pond, slightly over a kilometre away from their hut, by farmers on their way to the fields. The alleged perpetrator, 45-year-old Sanjay Rai, belongs to the influential Yadav caste. The village itself is dominated by upper castes — of the 150 or so houses in the area, only 15 are occupied by Dalit families.
Looking up from her cot, the mother hesitantly starts speaking. “The night before we found our daughter, Rai and five of his friends came by our house around 11 p.m. They abused us, hurled casteist slurs, and abducted my daughter at gunpoint, threatening to rape and kill her,” she says.
The victim’s mother grieves alone in her room. | Photo Credit: Amit Bhelari
The minor victim’s parents both struggle to make ends meet with their daily wage labour jobs. Of their five remaining children, three sons work as drivers in Kolkata. The other two girls are dependent on the couple.
A batchmate of the victim, who studied in Class 9 at a nearby government school, says she had always wanted more from life. “She had big dreams and ambitions. She wanted to escape this village life and be different from all of us.”
The hunt for justice
On August 13, a day after discovering the minor’s mutilated body, her mother filed a complaint at the Paroo police station. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged against Rai and five unknown persons under sections 103[1] (murder) and 70[2] (gang rape of a minor) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as relevant sections of the POSCO Act. Several sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989 were also imposed.
The first arrest was made by Muzaffarpur police on August 16 — a man named Mithilesh, who allegedly helped the prime suspect evade arrest.
The next day, the police arrived at Rai’s house, where he lived with his wife and children a mere 500 metres away from the victim’s hut, to attach his property. His house was also partially demolished with the help of a JCB machine.
The accused’s house was partially demolished with the help of a JCB machine. | Photo Credit: Amit Bhelari
On August 19, the police made a breakthrough in the case after arresting Rai and three others from Araria.
Speaking to The Hindu, SSP Rakesh Kumar says the police unearthed the missing piece of the puzzle after interrogating Rai. “After arrested the main accused, along with three others — Pankaj Ram, Chunnu Paswan and Munna Ram of Gopalpur village — it was revealed that Sanjay Rai and the minor were in a relationship. Their phone records prove it,” he says.
Five people in the village, he says, were aware of the relationship and wanted to catch them red-handed. “On the night of the murder, this group of people reached the spot where Rai and the minor were meeting illicitly. An argument broke out and they attacked both of them with sticks and rods. They also hit the girl’s head with a khurpi (gardening tool), after which she fell unconscious. They then ran away from the spot,” he adds.
Mr. Kumar adds that during interrogation, Rai confessed that out of fear of getting caught, he strangled the girl and dumped her body near the pond. The khurpi used to render her unconscious and other key pieces of evidence have been recovered by the police.
There was, however, no sign of rape, contrary to what the victim’s family alleges, says the SSP. “No struggle marks were found on her private parts in the post-mortem report, nor any trace of sperm,” he says.
While the police’s version does not match the family’s narrative, both sides are yet to be heard in court.
Inequality persists
The incident garnered national attention following a tweet by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, demanding strict action from the State government. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal also hit out at the Nitish Kumar-led government over the murder.
The neighbour of the main accused, Joginder Rai, says he has “maligned the name of the entire village”.
Ranjit Kumar Singh, sarpanch of the Lalu-Chapra panchayat, echoes the sentiment. “Sanjay Rai wanted to marry the minor but her family didn’t allow it because he was much older than her and already married. In fact, he had tried to bribe the family by offering them a tractor and a plot of land, but they still refused,” he says.
The crime has instilled fear in the tiny, outnumbered Dalit community of the village. Currently, police teams camp out in the area, keeping close to the family of the deceased.
