Men leave tense Rajasthan village after pregnant woman’s rape and murder, revenge burning of 3 homes

“A lot of people left the village due to harassment by police officers… The culprit should be punished, but the innocent people will not be troubled, so people who left should come back,” Meena said, adding that he would “make sure that the accused (in the rape and murder case) gets death sentence for his crime”.

The village has been tense for more than a week after the mutilated body of the woman was found on April 29. The same day, police arrested a man identified as Jagram Meena in connection with the case.

The woman’s husband on April 28 had filed a missing person’s report, saying she had not been seen after she went to collect fodder for their farm. The woman was six months pregnant, according to the report.

While the accused in the case, Jagram, had already been arrested, on May 2, a mob gathered in front of his house. Seeing that his family had left by then, the mob lit the house on fire and then proceeded to burn down two more houses in the vicinity that belonged to members of the accused’s family.

“The accused had been arrested, but it was the village panchayat that took matters into its own hands and burnt down the houses… Around seven people in the mob suffered burns and are currently in hospital,” Dinesh Agarwal, Dausa Assistant Superintendent of Police, told The Indian Express. He also said four people were taken into custody in connection with the arson.

A member of Jagram’s family said they barely managed to escape after seeing the mob coming. “We built this house four years ago and the villagers burnt it down. We are not in support of the accused,” she said.

Village sarpanch Kamal Kant Meena said, “We agree that the mob should not have crossed the limit, but people who are innocent (in the arson incident) should be spared. MLA Meena has assured us that justice will be served, and now men are coming back (to the village). I should clarify that the police did not harass anyone, but the fear among the youth has been prevalent. I just hope the court takes strict action against the accused.”