Tragedy Strikes Bihar Village as Four Girls Die, Sole Survivor Unavailable
In a heart-wrenching incident that has left a community in shock, four young girls from an impoverished Dalit settlement in Haspura block, Aurangabad district, Bihar, have died under mysterious circumstances. The girls, aged between 10 and 14, were part of a close-knit group of five friends, with only one survivor whose whereabouts are currently unknown, deepening the enigma surrounding this tragedy.
Delayed Police Response and Hasty Cremations
The Haspura Police Station was informed of the incident only on February 1, two days after the events unfolded on January 29. According to initial reports, the girls had "consumed poison" in their village, with four succumbing and one receiving treatment. When police officials, including the Station House Officer and Sub-Divisional Police Officer from Daudnagar, arrived to investigate, they discovered that the deceased girls had already been cremated by their families on the same day as the incident.
The Aurangabad police issued a press note on February 2, stating that they are attempting to record statements from the parents, but this has proven challenging as many are not present in the village. "Continuous questioning of villagers and others is underway, evidence is being collected, and an FIR has been registered. Further investigation into the cause of deaths is ongoing," police officials confirmed.
Life in the Impoverished Dalit Settlement
The village, home to 25-30 households, is characterized by extreme poverty and lack of basic amenities:
- Most houses are mud structures, with only a few pucca buildings.
- Clogged drains with stagnant dirty water criss-cross the settlement.
- Unpaved, potholed roads provide the only access to nearby towns.
- No homes have toilets, and common toilets have been unusable for years, forcing residents to use fields.
- There is no piped water supply, with most households relying on hand pumps.
Economic conditions are dire, with men working as farm hands or daily labourers, earning only Rs 3,000-5,000 per person for 10-15 days of work each month. Families produce about 8-10 quintals of crops per cycle, primarily for consumption, selling minimal amounts for essentials.
The Girls' Background and Daily Lives
The five girls, who lived in adjacent mud houses, were often left to their own devices due to their families' work commitments. "Those five were always together. Wherever they went, they went as a group. They spent the whole day roaming around the village and nearby areas, or playing," a village woman recounted.
All had dropped out of school after Class 5, as the local government school only offers education up to that level. They assisted with household chores and were described as carefree children. Their homes, similar in structure, featured clay stoves in courtyards and rooms stacked with grains and utensils.
Families' Accounts and Speculations
The father of an 11-year-old victim, who was working in Pangaon, Maharashtra, when the tragedy occurred, returned to find his daughter cremated. He mentioned taking up contract labour to pay off a Rs 50,000 debt, lamenting the lack of local employment opportunities. "If the government gave us even road construction work or anything that is regular, we would not leave our homes," he said.
Mothers of the deceased girls shared their last moments, with one noting her daughter left to cut grass in the fields. Villagers speculate the girls might have mistaken fertilizer or chemicals for black salt, leading to poisoning. "They were very young, perhaps they made a mistake," a villager suggested.
Questions Over Hasty Cremations and Investigation Hurdles
The rapid cremation of the bodies has raised questions, but villagers defend it as a collective decision due to financial constraints. "The families didn't have enough money for separate funerals or to buy wood. The girls were so small. So they were all burnt in the same pyre," explained the father of the 11-year-old.
Police efforts are hampered by the absence of the surviving girl and her family, whose house is locked. Aurangabad SP Ambrish Rahul referred inquiries to SDPO Ashok Kumar Das, but attempts to contact him have been unsuccessful. The mystery continues as the community grapples with loss and unanswered questions.
