A heinous crime is committed in Rajasthan against women; about 20 women gang raped in “Devnagari” Sirohi.
A case has been filed against the chairperson of the Sirohi Municipal Council in Rajasthan, Mahendra Mevada, and the former municipal council Commissioner, Mahendra Choudhary. They have been accused in the case of gang rape of nearly 20 women under the guise of providing employment in Anganwadi.
Heinous Crime: Gang-raped in “Dev Nagari” Sirohi
A woman from Pali district approached the police, alleging that the accused had lured her and approximately 20 other women with job opportunities after that this incident came to light.
According to the woman, she, along with other women, traveled to Sirohi several months ago to work in Anganwadi. They encountered the accused, who provided them with accommodation and meals. She further alleged that the food they were served contained sedatives, after consuming which they were subjected to sexual assault.
Upon regaining consciousness, they confronted the accused, who admitted to deceiving them for their own purposes. The accused also allegedly forced the women into engaging in physical relationships based on their demands. As per the statement of the women, the accused Mahendra Mevada and Mahendra Chaudhary were having alcohol with other men and mocking her.
The woman also claimed that the accused filmed the sexual assaults, later threatening to share the footage on social media and blackmailing the victims for money – demanding Rs five lakh each.
She also told that when they were called form Pali to Sirohi for the job, their signatures and thumb impressions were taken on the blank paper. According to victim, Mahendra mevada is from Congress party thus no action was taken by Police on first complaint.
Deputy Superintendent of Police, Paras Choudhary, stated that the women had previously filed a false complaint. However, the Rajasthan High Court has now ordered a case to be registered following a petition by eight women.
About 20 women gang raped in Rajasthan, Accused deny the allegations
After the woman complained about Mahendra Mevada and Mahendar Chaudhary, they held the press conference and dismissed all the allegations. They told that there is no proof, if there are women more than a dozen why are they not coming upfront? According to them the names of eight women are fictitious who signed the petition. Police is still investigating the case.
In the past, the same kind of incident took place and when police investigated about it. It was all brummagem.
Rajasthan Rape cases
According to the NCRB’s report, Rajasthan reported the highest number of rape cases at 5,399. In 5,131 of these cases, the offender was known to the survivor. In more than 3,000 cases, the offenders reported by women were family friends, neighbours, employers or other known persons.
One of the scandalous case happened in Rajasthan. The 1992 Ajmer rape case involved the serial gangrape and blackmailing of more than five hundred school and college-aged Hindu girls in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The perpetrators were a group of young Muslim men led by Farooq and Nafis Chishty, members of the Khadim family that oversaw the caretaking of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. Over the course of multiple years, ending in 1992, victims were lured into a remote farmhouse or bungalow, where they were sexually assaulted by one or several of the men. Additionally, the perpetrators took nude or otherwise revealing photographs of their victims, which were used as blackmail to prevent the women from speaking out.
In September 1992, 18 serial offenders were charged in court. The first eight to go to trial were sentenced to life in prison; however, four of them were later acquitted by the Rajasthan High Court in 2001. In 2007, a fast-track court in Ajmer convicted Farooq Chishti, but in 2013, the High Court released him on time served.
“The accused were in a position of influence, both socially and financially, and that made it even more difficult to persuade the girls to come forward and depose,” says retired Rajasthan D.G.P. Omendra Bhardwaj, who was then posted as the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ajmer.