Bhagana Rape Case: An Outcome of Dalit Assertion

On 23rd March 2014, 4 Dalit girls belonging to the Dhanak community were abducted, drugged and raped by a group of upper caste Jat men in Bhagana, Haryana. The next thing they knew, they were in Bathinda in Punjab, completely unaware of how they got there or what had happened to them. Since then, the Dalits have mobilised themselves and are protesting under the banner of Bhagana Kaand Sangharsh Samiti. These protests, initially held at the state level, were completely ignored by the administration and the Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, forcing the protesters to shift to Delhi. Having lost all hope in the state government, they now expect justice from the centre.

Newsclick spoke to several protesters in Jantar Mantar to try and understand if there is a reason for increasing crimes against Dalits, especially women, and whether there is more to these rape cases than what meets the eye.