Jodhpur, Rajasthan

For three months now, 37-year-old Kewalram Bheel has been awaiting justice. On August 9 this year, 11 members of his family, all Hindu refugees from Pakistan, were found dead in a field at Lodta Achlawata village in Dechu police station area of Jodhpur district, Rajasthan. 

Sitting in a field in Chamu village, about 20 kilometres from where the family was found dead, Bheel told Gaon Connection “It seems I came here only to perish.” Bheel escaped death as he was sleeping away from the family home that night. 

Those found dead include Bheel’s father Buddharam Bheel (75), his mother Antara Devi (70) and siblings Lakshmi (40), Priya (25), Suman (22) and Ravi (35). Among those being blamed for the crime are his wife and in-laws, whom Bheel was estranged from.

Police initially declared the deaths to be a case of mass suicide, but the motive is as yet unclear. Bheel’s family had migrated to India in 2015 from Sangar in Sindh province of Pakistan and was farming in villages around Jodhpur, about 370 kilometres from state capital Jaipur. Bheel said the family migrated thinking they belonged here and hoping to make a better life for themselves. “It was not meant to be. I never imagined I would see eleven people in my family die,” he lamented.

Life was not rosy when they moved to India, he said. “After my brother Ravi’s wedding in 2013, his in-laws came to India and we joined them two years later. But, we were not treated well and were continuously exploited,” said Bheel, and claimed that Hindu refugees who had settled here years ago were forcing the new refugees to live like slaves. 

Hindu Singh Sodha, president of Seemant Lok Sangathan, which works for the welfare of Hindu refugees, claimed there was a huge nexus behind the deaths. “Hindu refugees face a lot of difficulties due to the powerful nexus among touts, police and people from the intelligence bureau,” he told Gaon Connection. 

Police had then said it looked like a suicide based on the syringes recovered on the spot and the injection marks found on the bodies of the deceased. The post-mortem report indicated death due to poison. Police also said there had been a long-standing dispute between Kewalram’s family and his in-laws, and both sides had been lodging complaints against the other. 

After the incident, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot had arrived in Jodhpur and assured an impartial inquiry into the deaths. However, Bheel told Gaon Connection he was not allowed to meet the chief minister. “I lost my family, but I was detained and intimidated by the police for ten days,” he said.

Leaders from many political parties and even union cabinet minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, visited Bheel and offered financial assistance, but he does not know what happened to the investigation. Bheel’s surviving sister Malka Devi claimed her sister Laksmi had been tortured by Bheel’s wife and even after the deaths, the police were refusing to listen to them. 

Malka Devi claims police recovered a suicide note from another sister Priya’s pocket, which alleged police torture. Malka Devi showed Gaon Connection a four-page letter allegedly written by Lakshmi, where she details the atrocities she was subjected to. Lakshmi had also recorded a video message before her death, she said. Sodha referred to this video recorded by Lakshmi and said that though it was “self-explanatory”, police did not do anything.

Jodhpur Assistant superintendent of police Sunil K Panwar told Gaon Connection the case was under rapid investigation and would be wrapped up in a month. He attributed the delay to the Panchayati Raj elections in Rajasthan and the huge number of witnesses in the case.