4 min readNagaurFeb 22, 2022 07:52 AM IST
First published on: Feb 22, 2022 at 04:09 AM IST
JUST 3 km from Palot village in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district, a long trench runs through a vast expanse of empty field, adjacent to the main road. Empty liquor bottles lay scattered around the trench, dotted by thorny shrubs. It was here that a 35-year-old Dalit woman was found by police on February 10 morning.
Barely alive, she had injuries and insect bites on her body. The police said she had been lying there for six days – raped and strangled by her assailants, who left her to die. They said it was a “miracle” she was alive. The police also suspended two of their own officials for not making efforts to trace the woman after her family approached them on February 6, two days after she went missing.
The woman, who was brought to Jaipur for treatment, died on February 17.
The police have arrested Suresh Meghwal, also a Dalit, on charges of rape and murder. A juvenile who allegedly aided him has been detained.
But several people, ranging from Suresh’s family to the woman’s family, do not buy the police narrative. Instead, they point to the involvement of a man named Aaydan Ram Dara, a Congress worker from the Jat community and member of the Deedwana Panchayat Samiti.
The opposition BJP, too, has alleged his involvement. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena alleged that the accused have the political patronage of Aaydan.
“My nephew is innocent and has been framed. On February 5 evening, Aaydan came to our house with several people and threatened Suresh and family. He abused us with casteist slurs and said there will be dire consequences if Suresh takes Aaydan’s name before the police. Police tortured Suresh to extract his confession,” said Nanuram, Suresh’s uncle.
“Suresh used to work for Aaydan. He would work as a labourer…That night Suresh dropped the woman and the juvenile at a place in the village and returned home. I don’t think the woman was lying there for six days. She may have been dumped there one or two days before she was found. But from February 5 till his arrest, Suresh was at home.”
According to Nagaur SP Ram Moorty Joshi, Suresh was brought in for questioning on February 6 but was later let off. It was for this negligence that the SHO of the local police station and a head constable were suspended.
A relative of the woman said, “We don’t believe that Suresh is completely innocent but we think that Aaydan is also involved…. She may have been taken to some other location and later dumped at the spot where she was found. It is difficult to believe that she was lying there for six days.”
While Aaydan was not available at his home, his family denied the allegations. “Suresh never worked for my father. All the allegations being levelled are false and are part of a political conspiracy. This is being done because of Congress-BJP rivalry… We have decided to file a defamation case against those who have alleged my father’s involvement, including BJP MP Meena,” said Mukesh, Aaydan’s son.
Although the woman’s brother had demanded Aaydan’s arrest, the police said no proof has been found yet against him. “A call from the woman’s phone did go to Aaydan’s phone, but we have found no evidence of his presence at the crime scene,” SP Joshi said. He denied that Suresh was tortured to extract his confession.
He also denied allegations that the woman was dumped there one or two days before she was found. Teams from FSL came to the conclusion that she was lying there for six days, he said.
The four constables had left Bhavanagar city on February 8 and were on their way back from Delhi after detaining one Faeem Sheikh when they met with the accident.(Representational) 
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