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Dead become bone of contention

It is an eerie sight. The dead bodies have been laid on railway tracks, and family members of the Gurjar community killed in police firing light incense sticks— and wait for justice.

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PILUPURA (RAJASTHAN): It is an eerie sight. The dead bodies have been laid on railway tracks, and family members of the Gurjar community killed in police firing light incense sticks— and wait for justice.

Young men bring ice slabs so that the bodies do not stink or bloat. On the tracks in Pilupura village are 12 corpses in coffins, including one of a teenaged boy. The area is just one-and-a-half hours away from the Bharatpur bird sanctuary, a huge tourist attraction.

At least 37 people, including two policemen, have been killed in clashes between Gurjars and the police since May 23.

“We are ready to cremate our men on one condition —the administration must perform their autopsy here on the tracks and in front of us,” agitation leader KS Bhainsla said. “We don’t have faith in the government and Vasundhara Raje. Both are cheats. They will do post-mortem (of the bodies) and say our men died due to pellet injuries, not because of SLRs (self loading rifles). They will fudge the reports. At any cost, we will not let it happen,” said the ex-colonel.   

The Gurjars are not willing to cremate the dead till their demands are met. Bhainsla is calling the killings a “mass genocide” of innocent people by the police and army.

“Flouting all laws and regulations, the police and army opened fire to kill peaceful and unarmed protesters. Why did they not sound any warnings? They fired teargas and bullets from SLRs. We are firm that our men will not be cremated until we get a letter recommending that our community will get tribal status or till the doctors come here and perform the autopsy,” he said
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