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It has taken more than a month for the Maharashtra Government to order a CID inquiry into the murder of four members of a Dalit family in Kherlanji in Bhandara district a month ago. Earlier, thousands of people took to the streets in Indora in Nagpur city and other parts of the district on 7 November 2006 to demand justice for the four members of the family. Buses were damaged and tyres were set on fire, forcing the police to resort to lathicharge to disperse the protestors. Meanwhile the police resorted to force to disrupt a rally organised by Dalits in Bhandara district. The Dalits were protesting against the murder of the Dalit family in the district. The police, armed with truncheons and canes, dispersed the protesters as they called for justice. Their main target of the protesters was the police who have been strongly criticised for failing to take immediate action against the accused. The accused had allegedly killed the Bhotmanges because they refused to let them build a road over their field. According to reports, as the argument over the road issue continued, a mob of 60 upper caste villagers stormed their home. The mob was looking out for a local policeman Siddharth Gajbhiye, who had helped the Bhotmanges stand up to the upper caste villagers. Gajbhiye had been attacked by some villagers in early September, and the 12 men responsible had been sent to prison and Surekha had been an eyewitness. When the men were out on bail, they went looking for Gajbhiye. When they could not find him, they went to the Bhotmange's home. It was in their hut that 44-year old Surekha, her daughter Priyanka and sons Roshan and Sudhir were preparing for the evening meal when they were dragged out. Thereafter, they were stripped naked, beaten and driven to the main village square where both the women were raped for over an hour before they were all hacked to death. Surekha's scared husband Bhaiyalal watched in fear from far but could do nothing to save them. The police took over 24 hours to register a case and the post-mortem report made no mention of rape, only the head injuries sustained. It was only after protests by local activists that a second post-mortem was done. But by then establishing rape became difficult. In all 42 people are now in custody, but not a single eyewitness has come forward. Other Dalit families in the village admit they are also afraid to speak up. "Anyway the village treats us like outcastes, and we can't do anything because there are only two Dalit families here. We have always lived by the rules. How can we fight? Surekha (the one who was raped and killed) spoke up and she paid for it," said Shyamkala Meshram.
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