Beawar mass rape case: Muslim boys wanted to convert victims, were offered prize money in lakhs, it was organised crime – Lawyer helping the victims
A startling case came to light in Bijainagar area of Beawar in Rajasthan where underage Hindu girls of Class 10 were trapped, raped, and blackmailed with obscene images by Muslim boys who wanted to force them to embrace Islam and then marry them. The investigation is currently in progress and 14 accused, including 4 minors, have been apprehended.
On 13th April, Organiser Weekly’s Subhi Vishwakarma talked to the lawyer Gopal Narayan Sharma who has been helping the victims. Several startling details regarding the case were unveiled and the administration was criticised for their negligence and insufficient effort in bringing the case to a logical conclusion.
Attorney Gopal Narayan Sharma, who practices in Vijayanagar, reported that the issue emerged on 16th February following the filing of a First Information Report (FIR). He added, “A gathering of the Sarv Samaj took place, attended by approximately 1,000 to 1,500 members of the Hindu community. During this meeting, a committee named the Sarva Samaj Sangharsh Samiti was established to assist the victims and seek justice on their behalf. I was also appointed as a member of this committee. Currently, it is actively working to support these girls by providing legal assistance, ensuring their safety and facilitating a thorough investigation into the cases.”
The lawyer disclosed, “They (Muslim accused) did not trap all the girls simultaneously. They first pursued one girl on their bike as she made her way to school. They would either ride ahead of her or trail her closely, leaving paper slips and repeatedly harrased them for friendship. The teenagers, once caught in their web, were taken to cafes, offered food, drugged and photographed. These images were then used to manipulate them into recruiting other girls, thus continuing the cycle.”
At this time, five victims have come forward in relation to this case. There are many other girls who are reluctant to speak out because they fear defamation, and their families are also afraid. The offenders are engaged in occupations such as plumbing, painting and portering. They come from the labor class. On the other hand, the girls are from reputable families and are proficient in their studies.
“Despite their humble family backgrounds, they lead a lavish lifestyle characterized by expensive clothing, high-end footwear, designer sunglasses and luxury vehicles. They used to flaunt the same infront of the girls to attract them. However, they lack the financial resources to sustain such a lifestyle but there is an organisation of a particular community that systematically focuses on Hindu girls and women and intend to lure them through these young men,” Advocate Sharma conveyed.
He highlighted that the minors were forced to don hijabs and were pressured to observe Roza (Islamic fast) during the recent Ramzan. They were coerced into converting under the pretext of Nikah (Islamic marriage). If any girl resisted or hesitated, the perpetrators would inflict cuts on their palms with a knife, threatening that noncompliance would result in them being cut into pieces and their families would also meet the same fate.
Sharma mentioned, “The girls did not have personal mobile phones and depended on those belonging to their parents. The Muslim boys, however, asked them for money and provided them with diminutive Chinese mobile phones that were not easily noticeable. Each girl was given the same brand and model, enabling them to stay connected. The girls had black threads tied around their hands and feet, which negatively affected their mental state as long as they were present. Once the threads were taken off, they reverted to their usual selves.”
He stressed that the girls were summoned to cafes and were sexually exploited. Their medical evaluations are a crucial aspect of the inquiry. “We have obtained information from the parents of additional victims. Our committee members have tried to reach them, but they are all too frightened. There is a group backing the Muslim boys that has financed their luxurious lifestyle. They would tell these girls that converting a Brahmin girl from Hinduism to Islam would earn ₹ 20 lakh, while converting a girl from SC (Scheduled Caste), ST (Scheduled Tribe), or OBC (Other Backward Classes) backgrounds would bring in ₹ 10 lakh. The outfit encouraged them by framing the amount as a reward,” Sharma outlined.
Gopal Narayan Sharma referred to the event as a form of organized crime and expressed that there appears to be no probe being conducted in this regard and there is a lack of inquiry concerning the funding aspects as well. Sharma further stated, “Rehan, the son of Wasim, was mentioned during the investigation and subsequently detained by the police. However, the girl he had been speaking with did not come forward, which led to his release. He is now taking advantage of this to intimidate the families of the other victims.”
He noted that there are indications that individuals who are supporting the victims and involved in the case could potentially face repercussions, while the families of the girls are being pressured to withdraw their cases. “Our demand is to steer the inquiry towards organized crime. The young men who have been detained are simply pawns in a broader operation. It is perplexing that the authorities are not addressing the masterminds who manage the organization and exposing those who are funding it,” Sharma voiced.
He mentioned that a public representative had a conversation with the investigation officer, who revealed that there are numerous additional names involved in the case that will also be disclosed and the latter insisted that, irrespective of who the individuals are, decisive action should be taken against them. However, this did not transpire.
“A bulldozer was deployed outside a cafe to address encroachments made with bamboo sticks and other items on the footpath that separates the roadway from the cafe building. This area was cleared using a bulldozer, although it could have been dismantled manually. It was primarily as a formality to claim that action had been executed,” Sharma asserted and demanded that the case should be handed over to the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI), with the main focus on organized crime.
Gopal Narayan Sharma emphasised that current case bears a striking resemblance to the 1992 Ajmer rape case, noting that the pattern is identical. “The girls demonstrated remarkable bravery in this incident, which encouraged a woman in Bhilwara to come forward after experiencing a similar ordeal at the hands of eight Muslim boys. She was also made into consuming intoxicants. Her explicit images were recorded and then she was blackmailed. This recurring pattern suggests that we are dealing with organized crime, with an organization operating behind the scenes.”
Sharma described the incident as “love jihad” and “grooming jihad,” as the boys seduced the girls using false identities and stated that their main motive was to convert the girls and force them into marriage.
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