A sensational incident has come to light from the Pali district of Rajasthan where a Covid health assistant working in a government hospital in Bali was killed with a knife in public. Jitendrapal Meghwal, a resident of Barwa village, was stabbed to death by two miscreants who allegedly could not tolerate his moustache and his good lifestyle after getting the govt job. The killers travelled 800 km on two wheeler and killed Meghwal on Tuesday 15th March 2022 in the afternoon.
The deceased Dalit youth has become famous on social media for his stylish moustache and the initial reports tell that he was killed by the murderers named Suraj Singh Rajpurohit and Ramesh Singh because Jitendrapal Meghwal had made direct eye contact with the culprits at the time of some minor dispute between them that took place on 23rd June 2020. Both the killers have been arrested by the police on Thursday 17th March 2022. The action was taken under the leadership of Bali ASP Brijesh Soni.
Both the accused killers have been taken to Pali district headquarters. The miscreants had stabbed Jitendrapal Meghwal seven times with a knife. After the incident, the family members of the deceased and villagers protested outside Bali Hospital demanding to catch the accused. The family members of the deceased refused to accept the dead body of the deceased and sat in a tent in front of the government hospital on the Bali-Sadadi road.
What was the dispute?
According to reports, the dispute began on June 23, 2020, when Jitendra Meghwal was sitting outside his house in Barwa village and he had an exchange of words with Suraj Singh Rajpurohit of the village who was passing by. Suraj Singh Rajpurohit, at that time, made some comments saying ‘how did you make eye contact with me.’ The matter between the two escalated to a physical fight. Jitendrapal Meghwal had lodged a case of assault against Suraj Singh Rajpurohit and his two accomplices. After the case was filed, the accused were angry with Jitendra.
Reportedly, the accused had asked Jitendrapal Meghwal several times to come to a resolution and withdraw the case but he did not agree. As if this was nothing, Jitendrapal Meghwal recently secured the govt job and his lifestyle changed suddenly. Due to his lifestyle and stylish mustache, Suraj Singh Rajpurohit became jealous of him. Jitendrapal Meghwal had a good height and physique and his look was much better than that of Suraj Singh Rajpurohit, and the well-groomed handlebar moustache added to his good looks. This fact created hatred in the mind of accused Suraj Singh Rajpurohit.
The murderers travelled 800 KM on bike to kill the victim
The murder accused, Suraj Singh Rajpurohit, is a resident of the deceased’s village, and works in Surat. He was so much jealous of the victim that he travelled 800 KM on a bike from Surat to Bali to kill the victim. On March 15, Suraj Singh came to Bali from Surat with his friend Ramesh Singh. On that day they made a recce of Meghwal’s schedule. After completing duty on Tuesday afternoon, Jitendrapal Meghwal left Bali with his friend. The accused chased Jitendrapal Meghwal on his bike. Stopping him midway, they stabbed him in his back and chest seven times. The attack was so intense that he died while being taken to Sumerpur. Before he died, Jitendrapal Meghwal had named Suraj Singh and his accomplice.
This is 21st century India. Jitendrapal Meghwal posted in Rajasthan government job is murdered for having mustache and leading a good lifestyle. #JusticeForJitendraMeghwal pic.twitter.com/kQ4JfUcoO9
— Tribal Army (@TribalArmy) March 17, 2022
Was the dispute really that big?
Jitendrapal Meghwal came from a Dalit background whereas the accused killers belong to the upper caste. More than a mere exchange of words, making eye contact with the upper caste accused and having better looks than him and keeping a moustache turned out to be the main reasons behind the fatal attack on the Dalit youth. Added to these reasons, the deceased youth secured a job in the local health centre as opposed to the accused killer who had to relocate to Surat situated 800 KM away from the village.
Investigations
The accused fled from the spot after the incident. Following outrage by the Meghwal community over the murder, the police on Thursday arrested the two accused from Pachpadra. The family members said that the accused should be arrested soon and they should be given the death penalty. In this case, SP Rajan Dushyant had formed eight police teams that were on the lookout for the accused. Apart from this, the police had also sent two teams to Gujarat. Bali SHO Devendra Singh said that there was a pre-emptive fight between the two.
The accused Suraj Singh has an Instagram ID named King_of_godwad01. He likes to call himself the King of Godwad. There are a lot of videos of Punjabi and Haryanavi songs on his Instagram reel.
The grieved family
Om Prakash, the brother of the deceased, performed the last rites in tears. He cried and said that the accused Suraj Singh had attacked his brother in 2020 as well. He said, “My brother was beaten up over a small thing at that time. The villagers also know that he was jealous of my brother’s good personality. Give strict punishment to my brother’s killer as per the law.”
The family was protesting outside the hospital. The police and administration consoled them after which they agreed to a post mortem. Dr. Lalit Chaudhary, Umesh Gupta, and their team did the post-mortem. The body was then handed over to the family members. The administration has assured that their demands will be conveyed to the chief minister. The demands are to give a government job to the brother of the deceased, compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the victim’s family, and a permanent outpost in Barwa village.
Jitendrapal Meghwal ko samshaan lekar ja rahe h#JusticeForJitendraMeghwal pic.twitter.com/HkzVL2PtRH
— The Red Army (@King2451770841) March 18, 2022
Later the last rites of the victim were performed after police assured a through probe. A large number of people participated in the procession to the cremation ground.
The matter escalated to the state assembly
Bali MLA Pushpendra Singh Ranawat and Marwar Junction MLA Khushveer Singh Jojawar raised the issue of the murder of Jitendrapal Meghwal, a resident of Barwa village in the state assembly. He had called for early arrest of the accused, financial assistance to the victim’s family, and a government job to the family member.
