Soon after he won the elections in 2005, Bholaram Bhardwaj had the title ‘Sarpanch' [headman] etched out in large Devnagari letters above the entrance to his two storey house in Phulwari. The letters are still brightly outlined in red and green, but the house has been deserted since Mr. Bhardwaj was hacked to death by a village mob from Nevari in January 2008.
On Friday, November 4, a Raipur district court sentenced 51 residents of Nevari to life imprisonment for participating in Mr. Bhardwaj killing, a member of the Satnami scheduled caste.
“The villagers were sentenced under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 302 [of the Indian Penal Code]. Charges under the SC/ST [Prevention of Atrocities] Act were dropped,” said Hashim Khan, the lawyer who represented a number of the accused.
Peaceful settlements
The settlements of Nevari and Phulwari are separated by a short bridge over a shallow stream in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district. Till 2005, villagers say, it was hard to tell one settlement from the other. “Nevari people owned land in Phulwari, Phulwari people farmed in Nevari,” said Ganesh Ram Sahu, Mr. Bhardwaj's step-brother. “Then this [Mr. Bhardwaj's death] happened.”
Different versions
Three years after the event, the residents of the two villages have significantly different recollections of the circumstances behind Mr. Bhardwaj's death.
“Bholaram was dacoit who stole from everyone,” said Jaidev Sahu of Nevari, whose father, Khorbahara Sahu was implicated in the case. “He had illegally taken possession of 10 acres of land, illegally cut and sold trees worth Rs. 3 lakh.”
Mr. Sahu says trouble began on January 10, 2008 when the residents of Nevari organised a village fair. “We didn't invite the Sarpanch, so he set up his own microphone across from the fairgrounds and shouted abuses at us all night. In the morning, he refused to let us cross the bridge to visit the temple, and then an argument ensued. We called the thana inspector, but he said ‘He is your Sarpanch, you deal with him.' So we did.”
“My brother was hacked to death by a mob from Nevari,” says Ganesh Ram. “They raided his house, put all his possessions in a pile outside, sprinkled kerosene and set the pile alight.” Mr. Bhardwaj's body was recovered from the flames.
“They also attacked his wife and children. His wife's hair was cut and her head was beaten so badly that she had to be hospitalised,” he said, insisting that his brother was an honest man who never stole from anyone. “There was an argument with the villagers of Nevari because Bholaram had himself organised the village fair in his capacity as Sarpanch, but the villagers did not invite him for the aarti ritual.”
“Caste has no role”
Mr. Ganesh Ram and the villagers of Nevari and Phulwari insist that Mr. Bhardwaj's caste had no role to play in the events that led to his death.
However, villagers were unable to explain why Mr. Bhardwaj was not invited to participate in the religious rituals preceding the fair, and why the argument had turned so violent.
