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Police reach UP to find Ahmednagar victim’s caste
Not only did the family face this ostracism from the neighbours, but also from their own relatives after Rukmini married Mangesh who belongs to the Lohar community
The family members of Rukmini Ransingh, the teenager who was set ablaze inside her parents’ house find no allies in their neighbours. As the police have reached Uttar Pradesh to find the caste certificate to ascertain their association to the Pasi community, the family has more pressing issues at hand. The priorities of the grieving family include the availability of their next meal.
“We do not own land or anything. We had recently bought new clothes for all the family members to go for a close family wedding. That went up in flames along with our household belongings,” said Nirmala Saroj, mother of the deceased.
The neighbours of the family did not want any association with them due to the prejudice against the state from which they belong, according to family members.
“They are from UP-Bihar. We do not get entangled with them. Why should we?” said a woman in her 30s who lives in the house located opposite to Saroj family’s rented house. The neighbours here don’t even know their complete names or what the Saroj family does for a living, she added on condition of anonymity.
Not only did the family face this ostracism from the neighbours, but also from their own relatives after Rukmini married Mangesh who belongs to the Lohar community.
“We stopped talking with them after her wedding. We did not want anything to do with them. Mangesh had threatened my husband with a blade to get Rukmini a mobile phone before they got married. After marriage when my husband was near their house, Mangesh had fought with him again saying not to come near Rukmini,” said Nirsha Sarohj, wife of Ghanshyam Saroj, Rukmini’s uncle who is currently in judicial custody in the case filed by Mangesh. “My husband was sleeping in the house when the incident happened,” she said.
The victim’s mother sighs in dismay as she recollects the days leading up to the day Rukmini got married. “We moved here during Diwali time. He (Mangesh Ransingh)used to follow her and threaten us. We come from a different state. We have no one here. People here do not want to talk to use. It was frightening. I do not know what had come upon her that she agreed to marry that boy,” said Nirmala Saroj, the victim’s mother.
Rukmini’s father Rama Ramphal Saroj Bhartiya, who had seen her after the incident, was in the hospital for a day. The doctors had advised him to be shifted to Ahmednagar but the family could not afford the treatment. While Nirmala and two of her relative women attended Rukmini’s last rites in Pune, Rama could not do so.
“From a very young age, Rukmini had started working with us. I had never hit her. She was my first born,” said Rama.
While Rama does painting and labour work on a daily wage basis, Nirmala and Rukmini used to load onions onto goods carrier vehicles to earn a living.
“My youngest, Vivek, is five-year-old and has trouble sleeping since the incident. We had to send him away to his aunt’s house in Uttar Pradesh. He wakes up crying at nights,” said Nirmala.
As the family is coming to terms with the loss, they wish for justice for Rukmini and for the two arrested persons to be released.
