‘If Raje had any compassion like a woman, so many wouldn’t have died’

Of the nearly 20 people killed in Sikandara on Saturday, only two were from here — 42-year-old Gokul and 22-year-old Rajaram. Fourteen bodies were taken to Jaipur, while two-three are yet to be identified.

A majority of those who died in the two days of violence were between the ages of 16 and 25, Sikandara sarpanch Sarwansh Singh pointed out. “All of them were farmers and tilled ancesteral land to feed their families,” he said.

Expressing surprise at Raje’s visit, Singh added: “The whole day we were waiting for Sachin Pilot as our village falls under his constituency, Dausa, and after the comments our chief minister made earlier today, we are rather shocked to hear she had reached Bayana.”

Nannak Ram Gurjjar sat before the body of his 42-year-old son Gokul, wrapped in ice for preservation. Asked if he would carry on the struggle, he burst into tears: “Yes I have to, and now my resolve is stronger than ever.”

The other victim from Sikandara, Rajaram, left behind a 20-year-old wife and two young children — Golu, who is 2; and Priya, just six months’ old. The wife completed Class XII privately last year and now faces the prospect of raising the family ln her own.