Mass suicide: Four caste panchayat members arrested

Even as Bajna Khurd villagers are yet to come out of the shock of the mass suicide by a family and a neighbouring woman, police have arrested four of the caste panchayat, whose diktat led them to take the extreme step. Also, police teams have been constituted and raids are being conducted at various places to nab the absconding panchayat members. On Thursday, Gajendra Jat (40), a farmer, committed suicide along with his wife Heero Devi (35), son Rohit (6), daughter Chanchal (9) and neighbour Kunwar Devi (35) by jumping before a speeding train. In his suicide note, Gajendra alleged that the panchayat held him guilty for having illicit relationship with Kunwar Devi and imposed a penalty of Rs 50,000 on him, forcing them to commit suicide.

Sources said many villagers were against the panchayat decision as Kunwar Devi had denied the charges levelled by her family against Gajendra. They said the villagers had, however, never imagined that Gajendra would take such a tragic step following the diktat. Karauli additional SP Maman Singh told TOI said the police managed to arrest four persons — Jeevan, Jiyalal, Mahadev and Mohar Singh — from near the village while the police teams are on the look out for the rest in neighbouring villages and adjoining districts. Meanwhile, last rites were performed as the bodies of the deceased were handed over to their relatives after postmortem. The relatives and villagers have demanded immediate arrest of the absconding panchayat members.

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Mass-suicide-Four-caste-panchayat-members-arrested/articleshow/5850722.cms  24/04/10, The Times of India)