Dalit children killed in Faridabad: Forensic report suggests fire started inside the room

Ten days after two infants died of burn injuries in an alleged attack by upper caste Rajputs in Faridabad, a forensic investigation into the incident could raise question marks over the allegations. The Indian Express on Friday reported that an analysis of the scene where the alleged crime took place, suggests that the fire originated inside the room after finding a “half-burnt kerosene oil plastic bottle under the partially burnt bed and a burnt matchstick lying on a slab next to the window of the room.” [caption id=“attachment_2488724” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Haryana police. File photo. Image courtesy: Reuters[/caption] The forensic experts claim to have found no evidence of outside entry, and the window from which flammable liquid is alleged to have been thrown into the house was found to be shut. The experts have also claimed that the manner in which the inflammable substance was poured indicates that it wasn’t thrown from a distance, but was poured and then set on fire, the report said. The experts also claimed to have found other evidence that contradicts the allegations, like the fact that none of the plants adjoining the boundary wall around the house had been disturbed by the assailants when they scaled it. The forensic report may be submitted to the CBI by the weekend, according to the report. The father of the two children, Jitender Kumar, allegedly said they were attacked while they were sleeping in the house by members of the Rajput community. The father of the children, Jitender, sustained injuries while trying to save them from burning. His wife, Rekha, too suffered serious burn injuries and is said to be in a critical condition at the Safdarjang hospital in Delhi. Kumar was reported to have said that he had been in fear of the Rajputs since a clash between the two communities a year ago. The Dalit community had claimed that the district administration and the police knew of the threat to the family, which had been given police protection for the past 10 months. Subsequent to the incident, seven policemen posted in the area have been suspended with immediate effect. The Dalit community had claimed that the policemen rarely remained in the area, allowing the attack to take place. After outrage over the incident, the government agreed to the demand for a central probe, after which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began investigation into the case, according to a Hindustan Times report. On October 29, the CBI registered a case of murder against 11 persons in relation to the incident. The BJP government in the state has also come in for criticism over the incident. Opponents like Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, CPM’s Brinda Karat had visited the site of the incident and met with Jitender. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had appealed earlier  to not give the incident a political or casteist colour.