Bhilai, a famous steel town of Chhattisgarh is also known as Mini India, faced a tragic incident in 2018, the murder of Shrinkhala Yadav. Since then, her family has been seeking justice for the murder of their daughter, attempted by a minor then, now an adult. The events that led to this murder and its implications later is heart-breaking, as the fight for justice continues.
The main reason for the murder was because the girl rejected the guy who has been in love with her for the past five years. In frustration, the minor killed the girl.
Scene of Murder:
Shrinkhala Yadav, a 17-year-old, left her residence on June 13, 2018 afternoon on her scooter. The suspect was at a distance of 1km from her house and followed her when she left. On the way, he stopped her scooter and used a shovel to hit on her head.
After hitting her, he dragged her body, covered in blood, 85 feet behind a house and ran away from the spot. While leaving the place, he took her phone and bag along. She was in a critical condition for two days, after which she lost her life. The incident took place near Chhatrapati Shivaji Nagar, Gandhipuram. This boy was a classmate for hers, from the coaching centre and the son of a BSP worker. The police arrested him and registered him under Section 307, attempt to murder.
Investigation of Shrinkhala Murder:
The chase for the suspect was also not very easy for the police. A cousin of the victim informed the police that a boy had been troubling her for a few days. The police managed to get hold of his picture and began enquiring in the coaching centre. The director of the centre informed them that a student had been enrolled in April, who was the suspect himself.
Back then, Shrinkhala had informed the director about his misbehaviour. Following this, the director removed him from the centre, giving the reason that he did not perform well in the test. In the crime scene, a woman saw a boy, the suspect, take her bag and leaving. The police had a more substantial proof against the suspect and went to his residence immediately and arrested the minor. They also retrieved the shovel used for the attack, the victim’s bag and scooter keys.
Shrinkhala used to go to the coaching centre via Pragati Nagar. During the time, there was a pipeline work going on in Pragati Nagar. So the roads were dug up, the road used to remain empty during the day or was presumed to be unsafe, so she started going to the centre via the Chhatrapati Shivaji Nagar road.
The suspect kept an eye on her movements and found the right opportunity to commit the crime. He was also studying the same school as the victim. The victims parents were also aware of him bothering their daughter.
However, her parents never logged a complaint, instead just asked her to maintain distance from him. It did not seem to be a trouble back then. Her parents ignored the situation by telling her that such things happen in schools and should be ignored.
After the arrest, the suspect was released after four months of being in jail.
Shrinkhala Yadav was a smart student. She has secured good grades in her 10th boards and was then preparing for her 12th boards. She has aspirations of becoming a doctor and worked hard for achieving her dreams. This incident shook her parents, and they are still fighting to bring justice to their daughter.
Outcry for Justice:
There have been Instagram, YouTube and Twitter pages that have been created to spread the word about the brutal incident to give justice to Shrinkhala Yadav. For two years, attempts have been made continuously to bring out the issue.
In 2019, the victim’s mother appealed to the judicial system to ensure complete justice to her daughter. While addressing the media then, she mentions that the police has been patrolling the area since the incident took place. Despite that, such crimes have increased in the area.
On October 3, 2020, Mamta Yadav, mother of the victim, posted a video on Instagram. She questions the authorities on the release of the suspect and asks them to give explanations on how it can be justified. She talks about the safety of girls is a serious issue and needs to be taken up and not ignored. The same scenario keeps repeating, and no action is ever taken, says Mamta Yadav.
She gets agitated on the law system and tells that it’s about time that a change takes place so that the safety of the women of this country is not at risk. The fight for bringing justice to Shrinkhala and many other such cases continues, until proper action is taken for the safety of women and girls in India.
In India, in the name of rejection, we have seen many murders in the past as well. The recent murder of Nikita Tomar, a college student, is yet another brutal incident, and a reminder for the society that fight is still on against such a mindset. Acid attack was once even treated like an ‘illegal trend’ with several cases of crimes reported every day. Along with the law, the society also needs to awake to fight against such unruly crimes against women.
