Thaindian News

Bhatta-Parsaul (Uttar Pradesh), May 17 (IANS) An eerie calm has settled in this village where all men between 15 to 40 have fled in terror leaving the women and the old to cope with the blitzkrieg of publicity, a day after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s shocking allegations of rape and murder.

As security personnel camp outside the village, which combines the areas of Bhatta and Parsaul, in the upcoming Greater Noida area, about 70 km from the national capital, women sit outside their homes reluctant to talk to the journalists and camera crews.

The glare of publicity after the battle over land acquisition in an area sought after by the real estate lobby for its proximity to New Delhi has led to an exodus of men.

And people are still leaving, say residents on the condition of anonymity.

“People are scared to talk and open up only to say that there are a large number of young men unaccounted for. Over 2,000 men are gone from Parsaul alone and about a 1,000 from nearby Bhatta,” Kirpal Singh, 70, said.

On Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of rape and murder, he said: “We can’t say anything definite until everyone is back. They might meet the fate as Rahul claims… they might be away with their relatives. It is very difficult to ascertain the claims, but circumstances point that way ….”

An elderly village woman said: “We are the worst sufferers in the country. We have been victimised. Our young men are trapped in false cases, women were tortured by the PAC personnel.”

According to her, a Muslim family left the village with their cattle Tuesday. They were scared after a family friend was taken away for police questioning and did not return.

The police and intelligence officials in civvies are patrolling the area.

No public transport is operating. The nearest towns - Jajhar in the east and Dankaur in the west - are about eight to 10 kilometres away from the village.

“Can a woman walk to these towns to buy daily needs?” asked Jagviri Devi, another villager, with fear in her eyes.

“The grocery shops are closed. We are totally dependent on just rotis,” said another woman.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Monday staged a day-long sit-in at the village in support of farmers seeking higher compensation for land acquired for the 156-km Yamuna Expressway.

He later led a delegation of farmers to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi.

Gandhi alleged that women had been raped and people had found 74 heaps of ashes with dead bodies inside after the May 7 violence when villagers from the area in Gautam Budh Nagar district clashed with police.

“There is a set of large 74 heaps of ash there with dead bodies inside. Everybody in the village knows it. We can give you pictures. Women have been raped, people have been thrashed. Houses have been destroyed,” Gandhi told reporters.

Chief Minister Mayawati hit back to deny the allegations.

Farmers from Bhatta-Parsaul and other affected villages had Monday given a memorandum to the prime minister, saying that over the past two years, the Uttar Pradesh government had forcibly taken over their lands without following the due process under Land Acquisition Act, 1894.

The farmers said the Uttar Pradesh government had unleashed “a reign of terror” since May 7 and men had been shot by police and their bodies burnt and many men were missing.

The memorandum said that many of their family members had been put behind bars in false cases and were intimidated in prison.

The village had hit the headlines when clashes broke out between farmers and police, officially leaving four people dead. The following week, Gandhi was arrested after his daylong demonstration and then released.