Farmers' protests: Rahul's evidence vs ground reality

Bhatta, Parsaul: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi generated much political heat with his claims about the Uttar Pradesh government's alleged atrocities in the villages that were at the centre of Noida land wars. "74 stacks of hay were set on fire. There were bones in them. Women too were raped," Mr Gandhi had said. These startling claims were backed up with pictures which he claims were taken by farmers and journalists in Bhatta and Parsaul villages in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida. But the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) questioned the authenticity of the photographs released by Rahul Gandhi to back his charge; the villagers stopped short of saying there were rapes and killings. "There was no rape in our village. Four innocent were, however, badly beaten," said one of the villagers. The forensic probe results are still awaited. But a stung Chief Minister Mayawati has ruled out killing of agitators as a theory most preposterous. Her denial was reflected in the police action. "We wanted to ascertain if explosive were stored in the village. We took the sample and will seek the permission of the court and send it to the CFSL," said Rajnikant Mishra, Inspector General, Meerut Zone. But senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh backs Mr Gandhi's claims about the alleged torture. "That is why we are demanding a judicial enquiry from day one," he said. But for villagers, these are tense moments. Babita has not heard from her husband and children in 10 days. Struggling alone, her fears seem to have acquired some kind of a conviction in Rahul Gandhi's claim, though hers is a lone voice. "The police shot a man. He was dying. There were no men around. The women tried to help him. But the police took him away and threw him in a fire. I saw this," she said. Even almost 10 days later, most of the men of the village have not returned as most fear of being arrested. In light of that and the many missing, an analysis of these burnt hay stacks may now offer some clue if any of them were victims of police action.