Jaipur, Jun 23 (PTI) The deadlock between the administration and the family of a Dalit woman who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered in Bikaner ended on Friday evening after which the body was handed over to the kin of the victim, an official said.
Bikaner divisional commissioner Neeraj K Pawan said after several rounds of discussions, the family members agreed to accept the body in the evening.
This comes hours after a police constable accused in the case was terminated from service.
Pawan also said that Arvind Singh Shekhawat, a former SHO of the Khajuwala Police Station was suspended, while most of the staff of the police station was also shifted out.
He said there were some videos in which the Shekhawat was seen with main accused Dinesh Vishnoi with the victim’s family accusing that the former SHO was protecting the accused.
“Assurance was given to take action against all those who were involved in the crime and destroying evidence. Most of the policemen posted with Khajuwala Police Station are being changed. Assurance was also given to arrest the accused,” he said, adding that later the body was handed over.
Apart from the divisional commissioner, IG Bikaner range Om Prakash, SP Bikaner Tejaswani Gautam and other police officers were also there in the discussions with the family members.
Earlier, SP Gautam said that one of two police constables accused in the case has been terminated from service. According to police, three persons, including two police constables, have been accused of the crime.
While the police constables posted at the Khajuwala Police Station, both of whom were suspended soon after the FIR was registered on Tuesday, have been detained, main accused Dinesh Vishnoi is still absconding, police said.
Gautam said that the decision to dismiss constable Manoj was taken late on Thursday night.
A video in which constable Manoj is seen taking the victim in a car along with Vishnoi has surfaced, based on which the constable was terminated, the SP said.
She said the role of the second constable Bhagirath was being examined in detail.
Meanwhile, a three-member delegation of BJP visited Khajuwala town in Bikaner district and met the family members and also held talks with police officials.
Ajmer South MLA Anita Bhadel, who was part of the BJP delegation, targeted the Congress government saying crimes against women have increased under its rule in the state.
In Jaipur, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that there is a long list of such incidents of crime against women but the chief minister was not bothered.
He said that it was surprising that policemen were involved in the crime. “Some even say that the entire police station was involved,” Meghwal said.
Mehgwal said that Dalits are ready to teach the Congress party a lesson in the upcoming elections. He said that members of the National Commission for Scheduled Caste will go to Khajuwala to meet the victim’s family.
According to police, the 20-year-old woman’s body was found under the Khajuwala Police Station limits on Tuesday following which an FIR was lodged.
The family members have named Dinesh Vishnoi, Manoj and Bhagirath in the FIR.
The family members of the victims have already been given assurance of a compensation of Rs 10 lakh by the state government, Rs 15 lakh from social organisations, an investigation of the case by SIT, and a contractual job for one family member.
On these assurances, the family members had called off a dharna outside the Khajuwala Police Station on Wednesday evening.
But after the postmortem, they refused to accept the dead body on Thursday demanding arrest of all the accused. Postmortem was conducted on Wednesday evening. Finally, on Friday evening, the body was handed over to the family. PTI SDA SKY
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