annual report print final.qxd - Asian Centre for Human Rights

INDIA HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2005 Rajasthan
and died one by one. Bhuria Sahariya and
his wife Munni, whose child died after
fever, confessed that they could not afford
food for him, not to speak of medicine.
The relatives of other victims also
reportedly confessed of acute poverty and
lack of money. 32
Apart from occurrence of starvation
deaths in Shahabad and Kishanganj blocks
in Baran district, 15-year-old Pinki
Siglikar of Salabad village under Bayana
block in Bharatpur reportedly died after
she fell sick after eating wild edibles, bajra
and jawar. 33
On 23 September 2004, Rajinder, a
17-year-old Dalit student of Class XI,
committed suicide by hanging himself
with a rope in his house in Sadulsahar of
Sriganganagar district after his parents
could not pay his school fee or meet his
treatment expenses. Rajinder was reported
to be a meritorious student and had scored
about 70 per cent marks in his
matriculation examination. His father Hari
Ram is a daily wage labourer and works
for other people in fields. 34
The Rajasthan Government reportedly
prepared Rs 150 crore package for the
Sahariya tribe in Baran district. Under the
package, the tribals were to be given wheat
at Rs 2 (two) a kg and at least one member
of each Sahariya tribe family would be
given employment for a year, and steps
would be initiated for creating permanent
job avenues in the area. 35
218
V. Violence against women
Violence against women including
honour killings were reported from
Rajasthan.
On the intervening night of 7 and 8
July 2004, officer-in-charge of Chandpole
police outpost in Jaipur city, Assistant
Sub-Inspector Tulsiram Saini allegedly
barged into the house of an widow at a
nearby village and molested her. On a
complaint to the police by elder brother-inlaw
of the widow, the Superintendent of
Police reportedly suspended the accused
police Assistant Sub-Inspector. He had
been arrested and produced in the court of
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, who
sent him to 15 days judicial remand. 36
At about 11 pm on 16 December 2004,
two constables-Rajuram and Haparam,
posted at Khedapa police station in
Jodhpur district allegedly molested a
woman passenger and assaulted her
husband at the Khedapa Bus stop situated
near the police station. The couple hailing
from Kalali village in Pali district of
Rajasthan was reportedly traveling from
Jodhpur. The policemen beat up the
woman’s husband when he objected to
their indecent behaviour. 37
A 15-year-old minor girl Neelam
Gujjar was allegedly killed by her family
members at Shahadpur village in Dausa
district on the night of 22 September 2004
for the sake of ‘family honour’ after the
girl had eloped with a Dalit boy Rajesh
Bairwa. The body was hastily cremated by
the family on the next morning. The police
registered an FIR under Sections 302 and
201 of the IPC against 13 persons at the
Mahua police station on September 25. 38