06-05-2025
In M.P.'s Duglai, a remote hamlet, unprecedented civic push follows a horrific crime
It's early morning in Duglai, a village in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district, and around a dozen residents are huddled around two electricians busy installing power meters outside the house of a resident, Shyamlal Tekam. Above them, a third electrician is replacing power cables damaged several decades ago with new lines.
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Duglai is located deep inside the forests of Balaghat, which was last month removed from the Union Home Ministry's list of the districts 'most-affected' by left-wing extremism and notified as a 'district of concern', suggesting that Maoist influence in the area is on the wane.
Till 10 days ago, the village was isolated from the rest of the country. Except for a few weeks nearly 12 years ago, when electricity poles and cables were laid for the first time, it has never had electricity. 'The cables got damaged within a few weeks and were never replaced,' says Mr. Tekam. It has also never been connected with the State road network. But the 130-odd Gondi-speaking residents here, most of whom live in mud houses with thatched roofs, have seen a flurry of activity over the past few days, with senior the district officials, police officers, and political leaders making frequent visits and supervising the large-scale civic infrastructure overhaul, which includes a plan to lay a road connecting Duglai with a link road built just six months ago.
While the administration says that the works are part of the Centre's Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA) and the Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Affected Areas (RCPLWEA) schemes, many Duglai residents claim that the civic revamp started only after an outcry following the gang-rape of four village residents — three minors and a woman — last month.
The assault
The incident happened around 1.30 a.m. on the intervening night of April 23 and 24, when four minor girls and a woman, accompanied by their uncle, were returning from a wedding in the neighbouring Thakurtola village located two kilometres away. The group was accosted by seven men who had chased them on motorcycles from the venue of the event. As per the police, the accused beat Mr. Chamru, gang-raped the four victims, and fled.
The six Duglai residents returned to the village around 4 a.m. and shared their ordeal with others. On the morning of April 24, the victims' parents, along with residents of Thakurtola, approached the family members of the accused in Bhagatpur, 3.5 kilometres away, but were allegedly turned away.
Bhagatpur has electricity, roads, concrete houses, cattle, tractors and other farm machines.
'They first refused to believe that their sons had done this and later offered us money to settle the matter amongst ourselves,' said the father of one of the victims.
Balaghat Superintendent of Police (SP) Nagendra Singh told The Hindu that while some area residents were pushing for a 'settlement', the victims stood their ground.
'The village has been under the influence of Maoists for a long time, during which people here have been taught to avoid the police and the administration. Now, a police team is visiting the victims every day. The victims have begun sharing their ordeal with us, helping the case move forward,' he says.
'Won't back down'
On April 25, the victims, their parents and members of a few tribal outfits reached the Godri police checkpost and an FIR was filed under charges of gang rape, assault, and provisions of the POCSO Act. By evening, the police arrested the accused, identified as Lokesh Matre, 22, Inglesh Matre, 19 (brothers), Ajayendra, 27, Maniram Bahe, 21 (brothers), Raju Bagdate, 21, Rajendra Sabre, 24, and Lal Chand Khare, 34.
While the accused are currently in judicial custody, the survivors are staying at a State-run shelter home for children in Balaghat town.
Reena*, who, along with other rape survivors, are given police protection to visit their families, said the pressure from the accuseds' families to reach to an agreement did not deter her from pursuing the case.
'Before leaving us in the jungle, they threatened us, saying we won't be able to do anything. So we should not tell anyone about the crime. But I told the police everything,' she said.
Sorting tendu leaves from the forest, which is the main occupation of the residents here, Shyamlal*, the father of one of the rape survivors, however, is troubled by the frequent visits by officials from the district administration and police department.
'Nobody ever came here earlier. Now, so many people are coming and asking so many questions,' he said.
At the house of Lokesh Matre, his wife, 24, who is seven months pregnant, said, 'My husband didn't tell me anything. We only found out when the police came and took all of them. I haven't seen him ever since.'
'My father-in-law is ill. I will need to visit the hospital often now. Who will take me?' she added, terming the case 'fake'.
Meanwhile, Kankar Munjare, a former MP and a prominent political figure in the area, dubbed the 'hurried' development works in Duglai an 'insult' to the survivors and their families.
'Does someone have to get raped or killed to get basic civic services? This is not a form of compensation but an insult to their suffering,' he said.
Balaghat Collector Mrunal Meena said there was no connection between the crime and the civic services push in the area.
'We had identified 200 priority villages for electrification under the DAJGUA scheme, and the work is under way in many other villages as well. Duglai is among the villages most affected by Maoism. But we are working to connect these places with the mainstream,' he said.
* names changed to protect identity
