Fear persists in MP village a year after 5 deaths:Several families still living outside; residents say even firecrackers sound like bomb

Five deaths occurred in the village during Holi last year. A year has passed since that incident, but we are still living in fear. At that time, even people who had no connection to the incident were picked up by the police and had to endure torture. Some villagers returned a month or two ago, but many are still living outside. says Suresh Saket, a resident of Gadra village in Mauganj district. He was referring to an incident that took place a day after Holi last year, when some villagers allegedly beat a man to death. During the police action that followed, the situation escalated, and a crowd also killed an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI). After this, large-scale police action was carried out in the village. Many people were arrested and sent to jail, and most residents fled their homes, leaving the village nearly deserted. A few days later, the bodies of three members of a family were found hanging inside a house. The village remained deserted for several months, and villagers accused the police of harassing innocent people. To understand the situation a year after the incident, whether people have returned and what the atmosphere was like during this Holi, a Dainik Bhaskar team visited Gadra village. Located about 15 kilometres from the Mauganj district headquarters, a signboard marks the entrance to the village. Further inside, houses can be seen, but very few people are on the roads. Many homes remain locked, and in several houses, only one person was present. Villagers appeared hesitant to speak and often avoided conversation. Further ahead, Jai Kumar was standing outside his house. He said he had returned to the village only a week ago. “I still live outside and have come here just to check on the house. The atmosphere in the village is still not normal. Most people are staying outside due to fear, and nights feel even more frightening,” he said. He added that he plans to return to Banaras soon. “I just came to look after the house. If I had been here during the incident, perhaps the police would not have spared me either,” he said. House where murder took place is now locked The house where a man was beaten to death is now locked, and all the family members are currently in jail. About 50 metres away, Meena Bai was sitting outside her house. Meena Bai says that at the time of the incident, she was at home with her children, while her husband had gone out. “Despite having no connection with the incident, the police took me away. I tried to explain, but no one listened. The children were left alone at home,” she says. She got bail three months ago, but now the family has no source of income. She adds that their cattle also went missing after the incident because there was no one to take care of them. According to her, the police committed a lot of atrocities on people like them. Half of the villagers are still living outside Rajneesh Kol says the situation in the village is still not normal and more than half of the villagers are still living outside. “The administration says everything is normal, but Section 144 is still imposed in the village. Police are deployed round the clock. If things were normal, why would there be so much police?” he asks. He says bikes are often seen moving around at night, which scares residents. Two policemen stay in the school but do not enter the village. Even loud noises at night frighten children. Ration and pension also stopped Buddhasen says some people returned two to three months ago, but many villagers’ old-age pensions have stopped. The ration meant for poor families is also not reaching them. “We had left the village out of fear. Perhaps that is why our names were removed,” he says. Labour and sharecropping work also stopped Ram Bahadur says most families in this locality belong to Dalit and tribal communities. They have small houses and no land. “Our families survived on labour and sharecropping, but after the incident even that stopped. A few people committed the crime, but the entire village is suffering,” he says. Villagers also allege that during police action their house doors were broken and household items were taken away. No answers yet for three deaths Pawan Saket, whose house was the site where three bodies were found a few days after the incident, says he was working in Prayagraj at the time. “I received a call saying that three bodies were found in the house. When I reached the village, I learned that my father and siblings had died,” he says. Even after a year, he says he has not been told how they died. According to him, the administration had promised an investigation and compensation, but nothing has happened yet. The police had also seized his mobile phones, which have still not been returned. Half the children left in school The village school provides education up to Class 8. Teacher Ravi Shankar Tiwari says that last year around 125–130 children studied there, but now the number has dropped to about 60. “The number of children decreased after the incident. Even these children are visible because exams are going on. On normal days, even this many rarely attend,” he says. Police personnel staying in the school Two police personnel have been deployed in the village round the clock and are staying in one of the school’s rooms. Mahadev Prasad, one of the deployed policemen, says he has been on duty there for the past two months. Former MLA demands CBI inquiry Former Mauganj MLA Sukhendra Singh Banna says the incident was tragic and all related deaths, including the murder of a Brahmin, the killing of a policeman, and the deaths of three others, should be investigated by the CBI. A petition has already been filed in the High Court. He says that even when he was an MLA, disputes occurred but were resolved quickly with administrative cooperation. “This time the administration failed to handle the matter properly, which worsened the situation,” he said. Administration should not harass innocent people Buddhasen Saket, Mauganj district president of the Rashtriya Dalit Adivasi Mahasabha, says he has been regularly visiting the village since the incident and listening to people’s problems. He appealed to the administration to restore normalcy, stop harassment of innocent people, and arrange employment for villagers. He warned that if the situation does not improve soon, they will gherao the Collectorate. Administration’s claim: Situation completely normal Collector Sanjay Kumar Jain and SP Dilip Soni denied claims of migration and said the situation in the village is normal. SP Dilip Soni said two separate FIRs were registered in the case, and a chargesheet has been filed. Some accused have been arrested, while others are still absconding. Collector Sanjay Kumar Jain said the administration is regularly visiting the village and special arrangements were made during Holi this year to prevent any disturbance. He also denied that villagers had migrated or houses were lying closed.