Hyderabad: Communal tension has gripped north Telangana district Kumuram Bheem Asifabad after a Muslim auto driver was arrested for allegedly attempting to rape and murder a tribal woman.
Clashes erupted Wednesday at the district’s Jainoor town when a disturbed tribal community gave the call for a bandh. Police reported arson, stone pelting, and attacks on properties, shops and vehicles belonging to both sides. A place of worship was also purportedly attacked.
The district administration clamped a prohibitory curfew and the internet was also snapped in some areas to stop the spread of rumours and fake news. Over 1,000 police personnel have been deployed and flag marches conducted to bring the situation under control. The Rapid Action Forces (RAF) were also called in.
Adivasi organisations, including Tudum Debba, which works for tribal rights, are demanding justice for the tribal woman. BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay sought “unbiased action against the perpetrators” from the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government and the state director general of police (DGP).
The Karimnagar MP and former state BJP chief also condemned the incident in a post on X.
Deeply disturbed by the brutal assault on tribal woman by anti-social elements in Jainoor Village,Kumuram Bheem Asifabad District.
Spoke to the victim’s family & offered support.
Contacted @TelanganaDGP Garu and sought swift and unbiased action against the perpetrators,…
— Bandi Sanjay Kumar (@bandisanjay_bjp) September 4, 2024
The attempted rape and murder allegedly occurred on 31 August in Jainoor, in the tribal-dominated forest district, but the details only came to light Monday when the woman, who is undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, regained consciousness and gave her statement to the police.
On the day of the incident, the middle-aged woman was travelling in an auto when its driver allegedly tried to rape and kill her. The accused tried to pass off the incident as a hit-and-run, according to the police.
A statement from the DGP’s office Wednesday appealed for restraint while confirming that the accused had been arrested and remanded to judicial custody by Jainoor Police.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said the expenses of the victim’s treatment are being borne by the administration. “A compensation of Rs 1 lakh has already been given to the victim,” it said in a statement.
‘Repeat offences targeting our girls, women’
Speaking to ThePrint, BJP leader and former Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao, who is from the tribal community, said the incident harked back to the case of a woman from a Scheduled Caste (SC) community who was gangraped and killed on 24 November 2019 in the same district. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) was in power at that time.
The Adilabad Lok Sabha constituency, on the northern tip of Telangana, under which the Asifabad assembly segment falls, is a reserved seat for Scheduled Tribes (STs).
The Dalit woman in her 30s used to hawk kitchen utensils and balloons across villages in the district. Her body was found in bushes near Yellapatar village with her fingers cut off and scratches on her body.
Based on her husband’s complaint and the investigation, the police arrested three men—Shaik Babu, Shaik Shabuddin, and Shaik Maqdoom.
The incident occurred three days before the sensational rape and murder of ‘Disha’, a moniker given to the 26-year-old Hyderabad veterinarian.
However, the ‘Disha’ case caught media and public attention only after the grisly details emerged.
Days after the young vet’s alleged rapist-killers were shot dead by the Cyberabad police when they tried to ‘flee’, Dalit groups and the family of the 24 November victim also demanded that the accused in her case receive similar punishment. Protests were carried out in Asifabad wanting “similar, prompt justice for Samata” (the name given to the tribal woman).
In January 2020, a fast-track court in Adilabad pronounced a death sentence for the three men—Shaik Babu, Shaik Shabuddin, and Shaik Maqdoom—delivering the verdict in the Samata case just over two months from the date of the gruesome crime.
“Sadly, such crimes on poor, tribal women perpetrated by some men of one community are continuing in Adilabad-Asifabad areas. Our innocent tribal girls have also become targets, abducted and married in the name of love. The pent-up anger shown in the form of protests at Jainoor,” Soyam, quoted earlier, alleged.
Soyam, who is the former state president of Tudum Debba, also faulted All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi for expressing concern over the clashes and damage to property, “but not condemning the rape-assault on a tribal woman”.
“Are properties more valuable than lives? And what is the reason for the protest? The tribals were only reacting to the gruesome assault on their sister. Revanth Reddy government, out of fear of Owaisi or vote politics, community appeasement, should desist from targeting our tribals,” he said.
I have spoken to @TelanganaDGP regarding incidents of communal disturbances in Jainoor ,Asifabad District ,the @TelanganaDGP assured me that it is being monitored &additional forces are being send and action will be taken against people who take law in their hands
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) September 4, 2024
Soyam was also reacting to a statement from the Revanth government and Telangana Police that said special teams had been formed and investigations into the incidents of arson and violence had started to identify offenders.
“Why is the government suppressing the facts? As per SC observations too, the victim’s or family members’ identity should not be revealed. But why is the accused name not being made public?” asked high court advocate Karunasagar Kashimsetty, speaking to ThePrint.
On Thursday, former minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao too reacted to the matter on X. “It is evil for the state government to try to fold its hands by giving a ‘compensation’ of mere one lakh rupees to the victim woman,” he said.
కుమ్రంభీం ఆసిఫాబాద్ జిల్లా జైనూర్ మండలంలో ఒక ఆదివాసీ మహిళపై జరిగిన అత్యాచారయత్నం తీవ్ర ఉద్రిక్తతకు దారితీసింది. అక్కడ జరిగిన హింసాత్మక చర్యల్లో అనేక ఆస్తుల విధ్వంసం జరగడం దురదృష్టకరం. బాధిత మహిళకు కేవలం లక్ష రూపాయల "పరిహారం" ఇచ్చి చేతులు దులుపుకోవాలని రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వం…
— KTR (@KTRBRS) September 5, 2024
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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Men from Muslim community have a habit of targeting women from tribal and Dalit communities. Such incidents are quite common in northeast India too. The victims are young tribal girls while the perpetrators usually are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.
“Secular” media houses brush such news under the carpet.