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At Ravidas Camp, a hope to fade into the oblivion
New Delhi
New Delhi
On a cold December morning, sometime last week, a 22-year-old man rode quickly past a team of inquisitive television channel crew, who are walking past the Sant Ravidas Camp in south Delhi.
The man, a resident of Sant Ravidas Camp, has plans to keep a low profile till the time the convicts in the December 16 gang rape case are hanged.
“My colleagues don’t know I belong to the same neighbourhood where these men [the convicts] lived. I cannot risk being captured on camera when television media throngs this place. I will live at a relative’s place for a few days,” said the man, who works for a private firm and occasionally helps his father at a shop.
Amid speculations about the date of execution of the four convicted rapists, residents of this slum cluster are looking for a closure, even as they are concerned about the immediate aftermath.
The tiny neighbourhood of Sant Ravidas Camp, comprised mainly of working class people, had turned notorious as five of the six rapists lived here. Over the past few days, the residents have been following up news on the possibility of execution of the four convicted men.
“We read every article carefully and hear the TV news intently. But no one has told us about the date of execution,” said Lata Devi, a locals.
Ram said he would keep his college-going son and daughter away from the neighbourhood for those few days. “Over the years, some residents have left this neighbourhood, but most of us couldn’t afford to. I will look to move from here before I get my children married. But before that I need to ensure their address remains a secret,” said Devi.
Similar sentiments were echoed by many other residents, even as they waited for confirmation of the actual date of execution. “We will never be able to shed the ill reputation surrounding the place. But we will at least take pride that no one ever accused us of siding with the rapists. I hope our colony slips into anonymity forever after this,” said Raj Ram, a local shopkeeper.
Residents said that of late, they have been hearing wails emanating from the homes of Pawan and Vinay, two convicts whose families continue to live here. The elderly widowed mother of two others, brothers Ram Singh and Mukesh Singh, spends most of her time in her native village in Rajasthan.
“They haven’t been interacting much with outsiders ever since the encounter of the rape suspects in the Hyderabad case. That was the day we all knew that the execution process will speed up. Executing them soon will be justice for them and end the suffering of their parents,” said Raj Ram.
At the home of convict Vinay Sharma, who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail, his mother on Wednesday was spotted sprawled on the floor of their tiny room, her right hand resting on her head. Vinay’s father, fresh out after taking a bath, prayed to the idols of a dozen deities that are lined up in one corner of the house.
“Raksha kijiye (protect us),” was his common utterance, before he took the name of each deity.
On the opposite wall, a “certificate of appreciation” stood fixed and a gold medal in kabaddi hung amid shirts on a hanger. “Vinay had received them in jail. His conduct has been good in jail throughout, but I know that the end is near. Now I can only pray,” said his father, Hari Ram Sharma.
Vinay’s parents last met him in November and hope that they will be informed and allowed to see him again before he is hanged.
“My son is innocent...,” Vinay’s sobbing mother began to say on Wednesday, before she was cut off by her husband. “Our son has confessed to the crime. He has never denied it,” his father said sternly.
