`Without my consent, they took my kids for cremation’
22, Oct 2015
Oct 22 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
DurgeshNandan Jha
Sunped (Ballabgarh):
The two Dalit children burnt alive at Sunped village in Haryana allegedly by upper caste men were cremated on Wednesday after several hours of protests.
Jitender Kumar, their father, performed the last rites.His wife Rekha, who suffered serious burns in the arson attack on Tuesday , was battling for her life at Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi. The last rites were performed in the presence of thousands of Dalits who gathered at the Rajput-dominated village.
Some of them were political and social activists who had been protesting all day seeking justice for the family .Jitender and the protesters were unwilling to cremate the children initially despite requests from local MP Krishanpal Gurjar and the local administration.
“They have taken away my children to the cremation ground. No one asked for my consent,“ Jitender said, before he was taken to perform the last rites around 6.30pm.Residents too complained about high-handedness of the administration in hurrying up the cremation.