The victims in New Delhi, Saturday. (Photo: IE) The victims in New Delhi, Saturday. (Photo: IE)

Over 80 Dalit families from a village in Haryana have fled to Delhi after they were allegedly threatened by Jats for protesting the abduction and rape of four women.

The Dalits are from Bhagana in Hisar district. They alleged that four of their women were abducted on March 25 by five men. The women were sedated, raped and dumped at a railway station in Bathinda, Punjab.

Police arrested the five men but the Dalits said the Jats began intimidating the families of the victims and that’s what forced them to leave the village. “All that we had was our honour. The Jats took it away from us. Who will marry our daughters now? The police may have arrested the five men but we think they will be out soon,” the mother of one of the victims said.

Manish Chaudhary, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Hisar, said: “Four girls, two of them minors, were allegedly raped. We have registered an FIR against the five accused. Two of them are related to the village sarpanch. While two have been charged with rape, three have been booked for kidnapping. Medical examination of two girls has confirmed rape. We are still waiting for the forensic report.”

The Dalits alleged that they were warned by the Jats of the village not to report the matter to police. The families of the victims have decided to move the Supreme Court for rehabilitation and compensation. A petition, being readied with the help of Human Rights Law Network, will be filed on Monday.

Advocate Colin Gonsalves, who is helping the families file the petition, said: “The state of Haryana has become the rape capital of India. It is shocking that even after the Verma committee report, such incidents continue to be reported. We still have a long way to go before the recommendations of that report are actually put to practice.”

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