Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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| A police posse stands guard at the spot where a youth, Rohit Jain, was buried by the goons at the slum. |
Sitabuldi police on Wednesday exhumed body of a businessman, Rohit Jain, who was allegedly murdered and then buried at Vasantrao Naik Slum. After last night violence that resulted in lynching of a goon by angry slum dwellers, the skeletons in cupboard of Sitabuldi police started tumbling down. As decomposed body of Jain, who was tortured to death, by Akram Sheikh and his accomplices, the rot in policing at Nagpur city also become stark clear. Not that police were not told about activities of Akram Sheikh but the residents allege their complaints were ignored. Instead police used to tip off Akram about complaints received against him.
After last night violence the police were on defensive. Acting on information of slum dwellers alleged the police swung into action. From morning onwards the formalities were completed and Tehsildar informed as per procedure. Similarly the police also took into custody, Akram who last night was lucky to escape mob fury, and his two accomplices. But his brother, Iqbal Sheikh (30) was caught and was beated to death by the angry locals on the footpath near Patrakar Sahniwas on Amravati Road.
Body Exhumed: The process to exhume the body started around 2.30 pm. The entire procedure was videographed. The pit in which Jain was buried was found adjoining the wall of hockey ground on Amravati Road. The pit was around five feet deep and around six feet long and as labourers began removing top soil foul smell spread in the area. The body was naked.
The police said as per their investigations, Jain owed around Rs. 3 lakh to Akram. The businessman was from Seoni in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh. Jain would frequent electronics market at Sitabuldi and would frequent the gambling den at Vasantrao Naik slums. As the trader was not paying-up due money, Akram and his brothers, brought in Jain sometime on night of September 22.
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Joint CP Sanjay Saxena talking with slum dwellers |
The residents there told newspersons that they heard loud shouts on night of September 22, which police now suspect was owing to torture being inflicted by Akram and his associates. Akram had managed to spread his activities in large part of the slum area, he had forcibly taken over nine rooms at Vasantrao Nagar slums. The police as told by dwellers found a nylon rope with which Jain was allegedly tied and thrashed by the goons for recovery of money.
The highly decomposed body was exhumed around 4.30 pm. The body of Jain was sent for post mortem to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
Meanwhile, Sitabuldi police have so far made three arrests, including that of Sk Akram, Sk. Iqbal Sk. Rehamn and Pappu Gupta. They were charged with abudction and murder of Rohit Jain.
After death of Jain in the beating Akram forced three youth in locality to dug the pit in which the body was dumped. As residents began talking in whispers about the burial, Akram decided to remove the body. And for that purpose last night he and his brother came to the spot. However as slum dwellers got information they too assembled at spot and from there the matter took for worse.
As Akram was armed with two swords, the slum dwellers were hesitant to take on his might. But the activities of the goons was increasing and non co-operation of Sitabuldi police forced residents to take law into their own hand.
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