The Bhim Army is reported to have planted three of its members in the house of the family of the Hathras victim who were pivotal in fiving a caste angle to the matter which was initially reported to have been a consequence of a long standing family feud. One among them is believed to have been a woman from Jabalpur.
It is especially intriguing because on Thursday, the case of the ‘fake naxal bhabhi’ attracted a lot of attention. The fake bhabhi, identified as Rajkumari Bansal, is reported to have entered the picture two days after the incident took place on the 14th of September. She was initially reported to have stayed with the victim’s family between the 16th and the 22nd of September but we have pictures of her in the house when Sitaram Yechury visited the family along with a delegation of CPI and CPIM leaders on the 6th of February.
It has not yet been confirmed whether Rajkumari Bansal is a member of the Bhim Army but the Jagran report that mentions a young woman from Jabalpur as being one of the members of the outfit who was planted does appear to indicate that the woman being referred to is Bansal herself. Bansal is reportedly a physician from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College in Jabalpur.
The Dean of Jabalpur Medical College, meanwhile, has confirmed that she has been served a notice for visiting the victim family without informing th college. “We came to know from media reports that Rajkumari Bansal participated in a protest in Hathras. The notice has been served to her and her reply has been sought within a week. Further action will be subject to her reply,” he said.
Her social media accounts reveal that Rajkumari Bansal trying hard to polarise the Hathras case along caste lines. She also shared fake quotes by Yogi Adityanath on the matter and did not remove it even after users on social media pointed out that the quote was fake. She also fanned anti-CAA sentiments using the Hathras case.
As per the Jagran report, Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar Azad alias ‘Ravan’ had met the Hathras victim in Aligarh on September 27. The victim died on September 29 and when the political climate started getting hotter, while police took the victim’s body to her village at the night, 3 Bhim Army workers had slipped into the family’s house and started living there as ‘relatives’. The three Bhim Army workers, especially the woman, were actively giving media statements, targeting the state and district administration.
Thus, it appears probable that Rajkumari Bansal is a Bhim Army worker who was planted at the house of the victim’s family in order to coach them into peddling a particular narrative. Although it cannot be confirmed at this point, it is extremely likely that she is a member of the Bhim Army. The CBI investigation into the case will likely deliver a conclusive verdict on that matter as well.
The Bhim Army and its chief have been regularly involved in stirring up toxic caste tensions across states and it is suspected that they have played a part in creating tensions during the Hathras case as well.
