Sixty-year-old Saroj Devi becomes emotional while talking about her ordeal, when her son Bijender Singh was in jail for nearly three years in connection with the Maruti violence case.
“His wife was three months’ pregnant when the police arrested him. My husband, who was a driver in the Army, died 19 years ago. After my son’s arrest, our only source of income was my monthly pension of ₹7,000. With no male member in the family and the meagre income, every day was a struggle. Moreover, there was emotional trauma and social stigma alongside uncertainty over the final outcome in the case,” said Ms. Devi.
Time in jail
Struggling to meet even basic expenses, the family incurred a debt of ₹1.5 lakh before Mr. Singh was released on bail on April 15, 2015. His wife and mother, however, never visited him in jail, as he did not want them to see him in that condition.
Basic facts of Maruti case
Mr. Singh’s two brothers-in-law kept track of the legal proceedings all these years and also visited him at Bhondsi jail.
“We did not seek bail for him even when his uncle died as our relatives said he would be brought for cremation handcuffed, causing more social ignominy. His friends in the village snapped all ties with us fearing they would be harassed by the police,” said Ms. Devi.
Mr. Singh may be absolved of all charges by the court but he is aware that his life will never be the same. However, he still believes that it was not wrong on his part to raise voice against “injustice”.
The police botched up the probe and arrested him without an investigation, he said.
“The union members had asked us to stay after the first shift was over on July 18, 2012, and said that a worker was suspended. While having dinner at the canteen we heard loud noises outside,” said Mr. Singh, recalling the sequence of events that led to the violence.
He claimed to have seen some casual workers vandalising cars when he stepped out of the canteen.
“I called up my cousin, a policeman, to find out if the situation was volatile. He advised me to leave immediately. Four of us left the premises and I hitched a lift in a car after walking 4-5 km. I reached home around 8 p.m.,” he added.
15 ‘Bijenders’
Mr. Singh was informed later that the management had given a list of 100 workers in alphabetical order, including the names with 15 Bijenders, and the police were on the lookout for anyone with that name.
“The list had names without any mention of addresses. So anyone named Bijender was being arrested. On August 15, I decided to surrender after the police put pressure on my family. They made me sign a few blank papers and claimed to have recovered iron rods from my room in Gurugram. They probably did not know that I used to commute from my village in Jhajjar,” said Mr. Singh.
‘Happy to be free’
After the acquittal, Mr. Singh, now helps his friend run a tour and travel business in Jhajjar, earning around ₹8,000 per month. “I applied for jobs in several companies in Jhajjar and Rohtak after the bail, but they turned down my request after they got to know about my arrest in the Maruti case. It makes no difference to an employer that I have been acquitted in the case. But I am happy to be free and back with my family,” he added.
