In Sayar village in Ajmer district, a powerful Jat man repeatedly sexually harassed a 16-year-old dalit girl. When she resisted his advances, he along with another man broke into her house and tried to drag her off by force. When her 52-year-old mother resisted, the two men Banalal Dhankad and Jasraj Dhankad stripped both mother and daughter. When other members of the family protested, eight members of the family were brutally assaulted and thrown out of the village. The entire family including the six children, terrorised, sat in front of the office of Sarwar town deputy SP, demanding protection and justice. Although an FIR was registered, the accused were not arrested. In spite of this, the police refused to take the family’s fears seriously and kept advising them to return to the village. It is such callousness that leads to atrocities like the mass rape of dalit women at Khairlanji.
A team of AIPWA and CPI(ML) activists from Ajmer went to Sarwar to investigate, and brought both the victims to Ajmer. Ajmer’s AIPWA leader Bhanwari Devi took them both to the Ajmer District Collector’ office. After AIPWA’s intervention, both the accused were eventually arrested, and the police ordered to escort the family home safely. Bhanwari Devi also accompanied the family to the village and planned to convene and address a mass meeting in the village to mobilise opinion on the issue. The struggle to ensure safety of the family, secure compensation for the victims and ensure punishment for the guilty men for their assault on dalit women will continue
