In Bihar’s Aurangabad, a brutal case has led to massive outrage, with political leaders and activists demanding strict action against the perpetrators. The incident came to light when a 13-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly killed while playing Holi after she refused to entertain casteist comments.
The accused has been identified as Ranjay Kumar alias Sunny Singh, son of former district president of Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP-R), Manoj Singh. The other accused have been identified as Vinod Singh and Sanjay Singh. LJP (R) is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to the complaint filed by the girl’s father, Rajkumar Paswan, and accessed by Maktoob, the girl was playing Holi with her cousins when Singh and two others approached them.
“The men started brutally abusing the girls. They went on to say, ‘You Harijan girls want to play Holi? Come, we will play Holi with you,’” Paswan stated in his complaint.
When the girls ignored them, the men got more aggressive. Manoj Singh, who was in his car with the other accused, then allegedly crashed into the girls at high speed, killing one of them on the spot.
The incident has sparked massive outrage on social media.
Speaking to Maktoob, Ved Prakash, a member of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Bihar, said the incident is shocking, yet the police have “still not made any arrests in the matter.”
“Although an FIR has been registered, no one has been arrested,” he said.
The FIR has been lodged based on Paswan’s complaint. He hails from Basdih village.
When asked about the case, the Aurangabad City Police Station in-charge confirmed that three people have been named as accused.
The family has also alleged that even the FIR was registered a day after the incident.
Meanwhile, Manoj Singh said, “No one had the intention to commit the incident and murder.” He claimed the driver lost control of the vehicle, leading to the accident, and alleged that “political factors” were being used to tarnish his family’s image.
