‘That ‘girl’ is the cause of all troubles. She made him a killer’

Rajsamand: An eerie silence descends on the narrow cemented streets of Raigar Colony, hardly a kilometre away from Rajsamand collectorate.

There are no children playing outside nor could one see the women sitting outside in the sun. The colony is silent and the doors are locked from inside.

Any noise of a vehicle sends residents scurrying to the windows to check who has arrived. The colony, comprising 275 Raigar families, has never received so many visitors as it has after their 'Shambu' posted the hate video of the murder of Afrazul, the labourer from West Bengal.

Shambu's decrepit two-storied house is situated at the end of a congested lane and an air-conditioning unit can be seen fixed outside his room on the top floor.

The continuous questioning by the police, media and relatives have irked his family so much that they have refused to let unwanted visitors into the house.

But a friendly woman approach us from an adjoining door and point out with her finger. "That's Shambu's room. He was very fond of getting new things so he brought the air-conditioner and a television from New Delhi. But he has a quick temper. One day, he broke the television in anger," says Indira, his 'kakiji' (paternal aunt), who has known him since childhood.

The woman calls out to a few other women inside Shambu's home and asks for his wife Sita.

"Sita is unwell and doesn't want to meet anyone. Whatever he has done is really wrong but what can we do now? Our family is innocent and we didn't have any idea that something like this would happen. Humne video dekhe hain, lekin phir bhi humko vishwaas nahi ho raha hai ki yeh unhone kiya hai (We have seen the video. Bu we still cannot believe that he has done it)," shouts Guddi, a middle-aged married woman, from the terrace.

Guddi is Sita's brother's wife who has come to console her sister-in-law. "Our Shambu is innocent. That 'girl' is the cause of all the troubles. She has made him a killer. When no one was willing to go to Bengal to bring her back, only my Shambu agreed and brought her back from such dangerous people," Indira says.

"The Raigar samaj had penalized Shambu for the act," she says.

"Shambu had to pay Rs 10,000 as 'danda' (penalty) to the samaj for bringing back a girl who had been ostracized from the 'mohalla'. He is so kind at heart that he believes anyone's word," she adds.

Shambu's elder daughter Asmita, a 11th grader, and Sumit, his eight-year-old son, have not gone to the school since the incident. They have been sitting gloomily inside a dark room that hardly gets a ray of sunlight. "How many times will we be put to questioning? Every hour someone is knocking at our door and asking questions. Our brother has done something very terrible. There is no denying it. But what has been done is done, it cannot be mended now," says Lokesh Raigar, the accused's younger brother and an ironsmith by profession, from behind the closed door.

Relatives also claim Shambu had been planning something for a month now. "Shambhu is the eldest son in our joint family and had concern for all of us. Once, we overheard him advising his nephew that he should take the responsibility of the house if anything happens to him. Because he was addicted to 'gaanja' and alcohol, we didn't take his words seriously then. But now every small thing which he said appears mysterious," Indira said.

Meanwhile, the family is not only concerned about Shambu, they are worried about the 15-year-old boy who shot the video clips. "My son is innocent. We cannot believe that he saw the chilling incident and took the recordings. He had gone to school that day. We cannot understand how and why Shambu took him along," claims Prakash Raigar, the boy's father.

While in police custody, the parents had tried to speak to their son and repeatedly asked him if anyone else was involved in the incident. But the boy has stuck to his statement that he shot the video when 'mama' was killing the man.

BOX: Shambu an ardent Shiva devotee

Neighbours and Raigar Colony residents know Shambu as an ardent Shiva 'bhakt'. He visited a nearby temple frequently and spent hours there. He wanted to be a 'yogi' like Shiva and, therefore, practised yoga daily. Other than yoga, he would go for swimming everyday to the Nauchowki (platform) at the Rajsamand Lake. "He would often apply sandalwood paste or smear 'bhasma' (ashes) on his forehead. From the little conversation I have had with him, he didn't appear abnormal but spoke like a philosopher. He liked to use the suffix 'Bhawani' with his name and children's name. He called himself Shambhu Bhawani and used it with his kid's name," says Nandlal Raigar, a neighbour.

When asked about cases of girls eloping with men from other community, Nandlal says there have been three cases reported in the past 10 years.

Most of the people in the 'mohalla' work as labourers at construction sites, some take up petty contracts for building works. Due to the poor financial condition, many women too go for work.

"Minor girls are easy prey for anti-social elements. They fall into their net and elope from homes. At our social gatherings and occasional meetings, senior people advice families to counsel children, especially young girls, to stay away from such men when they go to work," said Ashok Raigar (name changed).