Compromise efforts on minor’s rape end in violence, 2 killed

Mathura/Agra: A slanging match between two women who had come together as a village panchayat was attempting to strike a compromise settlement in a case of rape of a six-year-old girl at Sikandrapur village in Mathura district snowballed into a clash that left two people dead on Friday. Stones were pelted and rounds were fired, even as it was alleged that a relative of the accused was killed by a member of his own family after the victim’s brother was shot dead, just so it appeared like the firing occurred from both sides.
The two dead were 22-year-old Ravi Kumar, brother of the six-year-old rape survivor and 70-year-old Soni Devi, wife of Tejpal Singh, one of the men accused of rape.
The DIG and senior police officials rushed to the village. A large contingent of policemen was posted in the village to maintain law and order.
Relatives of the victim and the accused gathered at the home of a villager as the panchayat was expected to negotiate a compromise between the two sides. The hearing of the case in a local court was scheduled for September 18.
SSP Mathura Rakesh Kumar said the six-year-old had allegedly been raped by Pappi Singh and his father Tejpal Singh in October last year. Ever since the girl’s family took the matter to police and lodged a case of rape against the two, the two families have been at loggerheads, he said.
While Pappi Singh is in jail, his father, who suffers from many ailments, has been out on bail.
“Police came to know that the villagers had called a meeting to strike a compromise between the two families. The women, however, exchanged angry words. The six-year-old girl’s family did not wish to strike any compromise at all, and the kin of the accused began to fire on them, leading to the death of the victim’s brother,” the SSP said.
He said that just to make it appear like both parties had exchanged fire, Tejpal’s brother Haripal fired on Tejpal’s wife (his sister-in-law), Soni Devi, who died on the spot.
Villagers too agreed that the brother of the accused had shot his own sister-in-law dead. Haripal Singh was arrested late evening. Three others who sustained bullet injuries are under treatment at the district hospital.
Senior police officials including DIG Lakshmi Singh reached the village after news of firings and stone pelting reached district headquarters. Police were still conducting raids late evening to arrest all the accused.