“You all killed my father, sir… You all killed my parents. Now you say I can’t even bury them? yells the anguished young man in the maroon shirt, fiercely beating a garden hoe on the ground. A police officer tries to reason with him and tells him to stop digging. Some people stare in silence.
The viral video has shaken public consciousness and sparked widespread protests in Kerala. It shows 23-year-old Rahul Raj trying to dig a grave for his father, a Dalit man who died on Monday after a week of battling severe burns. Rahul’s mother, who was alive at the time, died hours later. Like her husband, she too had suffered severe burns.
Rahul’s father, Pongil Rajan, 45, and his mentally disabled wife Ambili, 36, from Athiyannnor panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram district, accidentally set themselves on fire on December 22 while resisting attempts by the police. to evict them from the disputed three cents of land on which they had built their little house.
In his latest statement to a local magistrate, Rajan said he had doused himself and his wife with gasoline to trick the police into backing down. “He had lit the lighter just to keep the police out. I had no plans to end my life. But a police officer slapped the burning lighter, which fell on us and engulfed both of us in flames, ”he said.
In his statement, Rajan said that “he was devastated by the idea that his family would be deprived of a roof over his head. Deeply upset by that thought, I pulled my wife out and hugged her, and then poured gas on both of us. I thought the police would withdraw from their attempt to evict us. “
The couple had erected an asbestos roofed shed in a Dalit colony where they lived with their two children, Rahul and Ranjith. A woman named Vasantha had objected to the shed, claiming that she owned the land, which she had bought 16 years ago. After a legal battle in a local civil court, Vasantha obtained a favorable verdict.
Two months ago, the court ordered Rajan to leave the grounds, but he refused. Subsequently, the court appointed a commission of lawyers to investigate the matter. Based on the commission’s report, the court reissued an order to evict the family.
On December 22, the police arrived at the family home. By then, however, the couple had obtained a stay of the eviction order from the local municipal court. This had happened the same day; however, according to the family, until then they had not received a copy of the order to show the police.
“When the police came to the judicial authorities to evict us, my father told them about the suspension obtained from the court that same day. It was just a matter of getting a copy of the order, ”said Rahul, the couple’s oldest son.
“We were about to have lunch. Rice had been served. My father begged the police for half an hour to let us eat, ”said Rahul. “But the police did not allow us to eat. An officer yelled at my father, telling him to get out of our house with all of our belongings. Later, the father took the mother outside. “
After Rajan succumbed to his injuries on Monday, the sons insisted that he should be buried in the three cents of land for which he had fought and died. However, with land ownership in court, the local population did not want to dig the pit. So Rahul began to strain, but the police intervened. Subsequently, however, Rajan was buried at the facility at his wish.
As police action and the death of the Dalit couple sparked an uproar and protests, Chief Minister Pinarayi VIjayan said on Tuesday that the government would intervene to help orphaned children. “The government will assume their protection and will cover their educational expenses. They will be provided with a house, ”he announced.
The state Human Rights Commission ordered the district police chief to investigate the mistakes made by the police officers. The commission’s chairman, Judge Antony Dominic, said the police did not act appropriately. “While court orders must be implemented, the police should not have hurt a person’s pride and pushed them to suicide. Two lives have been lost in the presence of police officers, ”he said.
DGP Loknath Behera asked Thiruvananthapuram Rural SP B Ashokan to investigate the incident, including the lapses of the police in handling the eviction.
However, the woman who started the legal battle against the Dalit couple said she would not give in. Vasantha, who was taken away by the police fearing the anger of the local population, told reporters that she would not give up the land. “I bought the land 16 years ago. The people of the colony were against me. I’ve been fighting alone. I will not leave the earth. I want to show that it belongs to me, ” he said.
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