10th accused in Beawar sexual exploitation of minor girls case arrested from Karnataka

Jaipur, Feb 28 (PTI) One more accused allegedly involved in the sexual exploitation of minor girls in Rajasthan’s Beawar district was arrested from Karnataka on Friday, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 10 while three minor boys have been detained, a police official said.

Rajasthan’s Beawar district, formerly a part of Ajmer district, is in the grip of tension after the three FIRs were registered against 10 Muslims on February 16 in the sensational crime that has shocked the state.

Sanwar Lal, the tenth accused arrested in the case, is a cafe operator in Bijainagar town of the Beawar district. He is being brought by a police team from Karnataka, the police official said.

The arrested people are accused of being involved in the sexual exploitation of five minor girls and forcibly trying to convert their religion. The accused would waylay the girls on their way back from school and meet at Sanwar Lal’s cabin cafe that charged Rs 200 per hour, the police said.

“The accused Sanwar Lal was arrested by a police team late Thursday night in Karnataka. He is being brought to Beawar. The accused operated a cafe in Bijainagar,” Masuda DSP Sajjan Singh said.

Protests are being held in several parts of the state ever since the matter came to light. Kishangarh town remained closed on Friday with Hindu organisations demanding death penalty for the accused. A protest rally was also held in Ajmer. The market will remain closed in Ajmer on Saturday on the call of the Hindu organisations.

Demanding strict punishment for the accused in the case, Muslim Ekta Manch on Friday presented a memorandum in the name of the chief minister through the Ajmer district collector.

The entire case came to light about 10 days ago after Rs 2,000 went missing from the wallet of a minor’s father. The minor’s father questioned his daughter, who confessed to stealing the money to pay it to one of the accused. Her mother later found a phone in her daughter’s school bag, which revealed that she was talking to a Muslim youth.

The girl’s sister, also a minor, was later found to be in touch with another Muslim youth. The youths had made videos of their meetings and were blackmailing them to continue the relationship.

Three FIRs were registered at the Bijainagar police station on February 16 against 10 men based on the complaints received from the family members of five victims.

After the incident, the families of the accused and the local Jama Masjid received encroachment notices. A few of the encroachments were removed after the municipality detected some irregularities.

The medical examination report of the girls and the forensic lab report of the mobile are pending.

According to the police, the arrested accused work as labourers at businesses mostly owned by Hindus. Even as the police have ruled out a bigger organised gang involved in the crime and are investigating all the aspects to arrest the accused, both Hindu and Muslim communities are living in fear.

Recently, Governor Haribhau Bagde raised the matter, saying the girls were targeted as they were associated with a Hindu organisation and suggested the girls need not be afraid of the people who look at them with evil eyes. They should reply to a brick with a stone, he had added.

“You targeted the girls as they are with a Hindu organisation. Now this will not work as this is Bharat.

“Those who look at you with evil eyes, look them straight in the eye too. Reply to a brick with a stone. Those who got scared are in a different religion now. Those who didn’t are Hindus today,” Bagde had said.

After the incident, the families of the accused and the local Jama Masjid have got encroachment notices. A few of the encroachments were removed after the municipality detected some irregularities.

The Bijainagar Municipality has sent notices to the family members of the accused, the Jama Masjid and the local graveyard authorities seeking proof of ownership of the land on which they are situated. After this action, Muslims have sought legal help in the matter.

On Tuesday, a delegation of Muslims submitted a memorandum to the Beawar district collector regarding these notices and referred to the Supreme Court guidelines issued last year regarding demolitions. The collector subsequently directed the municipality not to move ahead with any demolitions.