SC notice to M.P. govt. in suspicious death of Dalit woman, murders of two family members

A general view of the Supreme Court of India.
| Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 22, 2025) issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government seeking its response on a petition demanding a CBI or SIT investigation into the death of a 20-year-old Dalit woman and alleged murders of her brother and uncle in Sagar district.

A Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar, hearing a petition filed by Anjana Ahirwar’s mother on Wednesday, sought the State government’s demands of moving the investigation out of Madhya Pradesh and police protection for the victim’s family.

Anjana, a resident of Sagar’s Khurai town, had died in May 2024 after she allegedly fell from an ambulance that was carrying the body of her uncle who had been allegedly thrashed to death just days ago. Her 18-year-old brother had been allegedly murdered by a group of men after he did not reportedly agree to “settle” a 2019 case of molestation against them by Anjana, and their mother was also allegedly stripped and beaten in August 2023.

The uncle, who died in May last year, was also a witness in the 2023 murder of Anjana’s brother.

Anjana’s death had created a massive uproar with Congress and other Opposition parties targeting the BJP government over atrocities against Dalits and Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visiting the family and assuring justice.

While the Sagar police have ruled out any foul play in Anjana’s death, the family has rejected the police claims. The police have also arrested several men in connection with the two alleged murders.

The family has, however, long accused the police and authorities of shielding the accused who, they claim, are linked to BJP MLA and former State Minister Bhupendra Singh.

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In the petition before the Supreme Court too, the girl’s mother has alleged that the BJP leader is “influencing and threatening the witnesses” and said that the prosecution of the accused is not possible in Madhya Pradesh.

“He is influencing and threatening the witnesses. Due to the power and influence of the accused, three family members, who were important witnesses in the criminal conspiracy against the Dalit family, have already been murdered in the span of one year,” the petition read, demanding to transfer the probe out of the State.

The petition also said: “The sabotage of the investigation and the killing of eyewitnesses were the result of a criminal conspiracy, which involved members of the village’s dominant community headed by the former Home Minister of the State of M.P.”

The court has sought the government’s response by the third week of March.