diff --git "a/text_file_eng_long.txt" "b/text_file_eng_long.txt" deleted file mode 100644--- "a/text_file_eng_long.txt" +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1572 +0,0 @@ -A Programmer’s Introduction to Unicode March 3, 2017 · Coding · 22 Comments Ｕｎｉｃｏｄｅ! 🅤🅝🅘🅒🅞🅓🅔‽ 🇺\u200c🇳\u200c🇮\u200c🇨\u200c🇴\u200c🇩\u200c🇪! 😄 The very name strikes fear and awe into the hearts of programmers worldwide. We all know we ought to “support Unicode” in our software (whatever that means—like using wchar_t for all the strings, right?). But Unicode can be abstruse, and diving into the thousand-page Unicode Standard plus its dozens of supplementary annexes, reports, and notes can be more than a little intimidating. I don’t blame programmers for still finding the whole thing mysterious, even 30 years after Unicode’s inception. A few months ago, I got interested in Unicode and decided to spend some time learning more about it in detail. In this article, I’ll give an introduction to it from a programmer’s point of view. I’m going to focus on the character set and what’s involved in working with strings and files of Unicode text. However, in this article I’m not going to talk about fonts, text layout/shaping/rendering, or localization in detail—those are separate issues, beyond my scope (and knowledge) here. Diversity and Inherent Complexity The Unicode Codespace Codespace Allocation Scripts Usage Frequency Encodings UTF-8 UTF-16 Combining Marks Canonical Equivalence Normalization Forms Grapheme Clusters And More… Diversity and Inherent Complexity As soon as you start to study Unicode, it becomes clear that it represents a large jump in complexity over character sets like ASCII that you may be more familiar with. It’s not just that Unicode contains a much larger number of characters, although that’s part of it. Unicode also has a great deal of internal structure, features, and special cases, making it much more than what one might expect a mere “character set” to be. We’ll see some of that later in this article. When confronting all this complexity, especially as an engineer, it’s hard not to find oneself asking, “Why do we need all this? Is this really necessary? Couldn’t it be simplified?” However, Unicode aims to faithfully represent the entire world’s writing systems. The Unicode Consortium’s stated goal is “enabling people around the world to use computers in any language”. And as you might imagine, the diversity of written languages is immense! To date, Unicode supports 135 different scripts, covering some 1100 languages, and there’s still a long tail of over 100 unsupported scripts, both modern and historical, which people are still working to add. Given this enormous diversity, it’s inevitable that representing it is a complicated project. Unicode embraces that diversity, and accepts the complexity inherent in its mission to include all human writing systems. It doesn’t make a lot of trade-offs in the name of simplification, and it makes exceptions to its own rules where necessary to further its mission. Moreover, Unicode is committed not just to supporting texts in any single language, but also to letting multiple languages coexist within one text—which introduces even more complexity. Most programming languages have libraries available to handle the gory low-level details of text manipulation, but as a programmer, you’ll still need to know about certain Unicode features in order to know when and how to apply them. It may take some time to wrap your head around it all, but don’t be discouraged—think about the billions of people for whom your software will be more accessible through supporting text in their language. Embrace the complexity! The Unicode Codespace Let’s start with some general orientation. The basic elements of Unicode—its “characters”, although that term isn’t quite right—are called code points. Code points are identified by number, customarily written in hexadecimal with the prefix “U+”, such as U+0041 “A” latin capital letter a or U+03B8 “θ” greek small letter theta. Each code point also has a short name, and quite a few other properties, specified in the Unicode Character Database. The set of all possible code points is called the codespace. The Unicode codespace consists of 1,114,112 code points. However, only 128,237 of them—about 12% of the codespace—are actually assigned, to date. There’s plenty of room for growth! Unicode also reserves an additional 137,468 code points as “private use” areas, which have no standardized meaning and are available for individual applications to define for their own purposes. Codespace Allocation To get a feel for how the codespace is laid out, it’s helpful to visualize it. Below is a map of the entire codespace, with one pixel per code point. It’s arranged in tiles for visual coherence; each small square is 16×16 = 256 code points, and each large square is a “plane” of 65,536 code points. There are 17 planes altogether. Map of the Unicode codespace (click to zoom) White represents unassigned space. Blue is assigned code points, green is private-use areas, and the small red area is surrogates (more about those later). As you can see, the assigned code points are distributed somewhat sparsely, but concentrated in the first three planes. Plane 0 is also known as the “Basic Multilingual Plane”, or BMP. The BMP contains essentially all the characters needed for modern text in any script, including Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Han (Chinese), Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, Devanagari (Indian), and many more. (In the past, the codespace was just the BMP and no more—Unicode was originally conceived as a straightforward 16-bit encoding, with only 65,536 code points. It was expanded to its current size in 1996. However, the vast majority of code points in modern text belong to the BMP.) Plane 1 contains historical scripts, such as Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs, as well as emoji and various other symbols. Plane 2 contains a large block of less-common and historical Han characters. The remaining planes are empty, except for a small number of rarely-used formatting characters in Plane 14; planes 15–16 are reserved entirely for private use. Scripts Let’s zoom in on the first three planes, since that’s where the action is: Map of scripts in Unicode planes 0–2 (click to zoom) This map color-codes the 135 different scripts in Unicode. You can see how Han () and Korean () take up most of the range of the BMP (the left large square). By contrast, all of the European, Middle Eastern, and South Asian scripts fit into the first row of the BMP in this diagram. Many areas of the codespace are adapted or copied from earlier encodings. For example, the first 128 code points of Unicode are just a copy of ASCII. This has clear benefits for compatibility—it’s easy to losslessly convert texts from smaller encodings into Unicode (and the other direction too, as long as no characters outside the smaller encoding are used). Usage Frequency One more interesting way to visualize the codespace is to look at the distribution of usage—in other words, how often each code point is actually used in real-world texts. Below is a heat map of planes 0–2 based on a large sample of text from Wikipedia and Twitter (all languages). Frequency increases from black (never seen) through red and yellow to white. Heat map of code point usage frequency in Unicode planes 0–2 (click to zoom) You can see that the vast majority of this text sample lies in the BMP, with only scattered usage of code points from planes 1–2. The biggest exception is emoji, which show up here as the several bright squares in the bottom row of plane 1. Encodings We’ve seen that Unicode code points are abstractly identified by their index in the codespace, ranging from U+0000 to U+10FFFF. But how do code points get represented as bytes, in memory or in a file? The most convenient, computer-friendliest (and programmer-friendliest) thing to do would be to just store the code point index as a 32-bit integer. This works, but it consumes 4 bytes per code point, which is sort of a lot. Using 32-bit ints for Unicode will cost you a bunch of extra storage, memory, and performance in bandwidth-bound scenarios, if you work with a lot of text. Consequently, there are several more-compact encodings for Unicode. The 32-bit integer encoding is officially called UTF-32 (UTF = “Unicode Transformation Format”), but it’s rarely used for storage. At most, it comes up sometimes as a temporary internal representation, for examining or operating on the code points in a string. Much more commonly, you’ll see Unicode text encoded as either UTF-8 or UTF-16. These are both variable-length encodings, made up of 8-bit or 16-bit units, respectively. In these schemes, code points with smaller index values take up fewer bytes, which saves a lot of memory for typical texts. The trade-off is that processing UTF-8/16 texts is more programmatically involved, and likely slower. UTF-8 In UTF-8, each code point is stored using 1 to 4 bytes, based on its index value. UTF-8 uses a system of binary prefixes, in which the high bits of each byte mark whether it’s a single byte, the beginning of a multi-byte sequence, or a continuation byte; the remaining bits, concatenated, give the code point index. This table shows how it works: UTF-8 (binary)\tCode point (binary)\tRange 0xxxxxxx\txxxxxxx\tU+0000–U+007F 110xxxxx 10yyyyyy\txxxxxyyyyyy\tU+0080–U+07FF 1110xxxx 10yyyyyy 10zzzzzz\txxxxyyyyyyzzzzzz\tU+0800–U+FFFF 11110xxx 10yyyyyy 10zzzzzz 10wwwwww\txxxyyyyyyzzzzzzwwwwww\tU+10000–U+10FFFF A handy property of UTF-8 is that code points below 128 (ASCII characters) are encoded as single bytes, and all non-ASCII code points are encoded using sequences of bytes 128–255. This has a couple of nice consequences. First, any strings or files out there that are already in ASCII can also be interpreted as UTF-8 without any conversion. Second, lots of widely-used string programming idioms—such as null termination, or delimiters (newlines, tabs, commas, slashes, etc.)—will just work on UTF-8 strings. ASCII bytes never occur inside the encoding of non-ASCII code points, so searching byte-wise for a null terminator or a delimiter will do the right thing. Thanks to this convenience, it’s relatively simple to extend legacy ASCII programs and APIs to handle UTF-8 strings. UTF-8 is very widely used in the Unix/Linux and Web worlds, and many programmers argue UTF-8 should be the default encoding everywhere. However, UTF-8 isn’t a drop-in replacement for ASCII strings in all respects. For instance, code that iterates over the “characters” in a string will need to decode UTF-8 and iterate over code points (or maybe grapheme clusters—more about those later), not bytes. When you measure the “length” of a string, you’ll need to think about whether you want the length in bytes, the length in code points, the width of the text when rendered, or something else. UTF-16 The other encoding that you’re likely to encounter is UTF-16. It uses 16-bit words, with each code point stored as either 1 or 2 words. Like UTF-8, we can express the UTF-16 encoding rules in the form of binary prefixes: UTF-16 (binary)\tCode point (binary)\tRange xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx\txxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx\tU+0000–U+FFFF 110110xxxxxxxxxx 110111yyyyyyyyyy\txxxxxxxxxxyyyyyyyyyy + 0x10000\tU+10000–U+10FFFF A more common way that people talk about UTF-16 encoding, though, is in terms of code points called “surrogates”. All the code points in the range U+D800–U+DFFF—or in other words, the code points that match the binary prefixes 110110 and 110111 in the table above—are reserved specifically for UTF-16 encoding, and don’t represent any valid characters on their own. They’re only meant to occur in the 2-word encoding pattern above, which is called a “surrogate pair”. Surrogate code points are illegal in any other context! They’re not allowed in UTF-8 or UTF-32 at all. Historically, UTF-16 is a descendant of the original, pre-1996 versions of Unicode, in which there were only 65,536 code points. The original intention was that there would be no different “encodings”; Unicode was supposed to be a straightforward 16-bit character set. Later, the codespace was expanded to make room for a long tail of less-common (but still important) Han characters, which the Unicode designers didn’t originally plan for. Surrogates were then introduced, as—to put it bluntly—a kludge, allowing 16-bit encodings to access the new code points. Today, Javascript uses UTF-16 as its standard string representation: if you ask for the length of a string, or iterate over it, etc., the result will be in UTF-16 words, with any code points outside the BMP expressed as surrogate pairs. UTF-16 is also used by the Microsoft Win32 APIs; though Win32 supports either 8-bit or 16-bit strings, the 8-bit version unaccountably still doesn’t support UTF-8—only legacy code-page encodings, like ANSI. This leaves UTF-16 as the only way to get proper Unicode support in Windows. (Update: in Win10 version 1903, they finally added UTF-8 support to the 8-bit APIs! 😊) By the way, UTF-16’s words can be stored either little-endian or big-endian. Unicode has no opinion on that issue, though it does encourage the convention of putting U+FEFF zero width no-break space at the top of a UTF-16 file as a byte-order mark, to disambiguate the endianness. (If the file doesn’t match the system’s endianness, the BOM will be decoded as U+FFFE, which isn’t a valid code point.) Combining Marks In the story so far, we’ve been focusing on code points. But in Unicode, a “character” can be more complicated than just an individual code point! Unicode includes a system for dynamically composing characters, by combining multiple code points together. This is used in various ways to gain flexibility without causing a huge combinatorial explosion in the number of code points. In European languages, for example, this shows up in the application of diacritics to letters. Unicode supports a wide range of diacritics, including acute and grave accents, umlauts, cedillas, and many more. All these diacritics can be applied to any letter of any alphabet—and in fact, multiple diacritics can be used on a single letter. If Unicode tried to assign a distinct code point to every possible combination of letter and diacritics, things would rapidly get out of hand. Instead, the dynamic composition system enables you to construct the character you want, by starting with a base code point (the letter) and appending additional code points, called “combining marks”, to specify the diacritics. When a text renderer sees a sequence like this in a string, it automatically stacks the diacritics over or under the base letter to create a composed character. For example, the accented character “Á” can be expressed as a string of two code points: U+0041 “A” latin capital letter a plus U+0301 “◌́” combining acute accent. This string automatically gets rendered as a single character: “Á”. Now, Unicode does also include many “precomposed” code points, each representing a letter with some combination of diacritics already applied, such as U+00C1 “Á” latin capital letter a with acute or U+1EC7 “ệ” latin small letter e with circumflex and dot below. I suspect these are mostly inherited from older encodings that were assimilated into Unicode, and kept around for compatibility. In practice, there are precomposed code points for most of the common letter-with-diacritic combinations in European-script languages, so they don’t use dynamic composition that much in typical text. Still, the system of combining marks does allow for an arbitrary number of diacritics to be stacked on any base character. The reductio-ad-absurdum of this is Zalgo text, which works by ͖͟ͅr͞aṋ̫̠̖͈̗d͖̻̹óm̪͙͕̗̝ļ͇̰͓̳̫ý͓̥̟͍ ̕s̫t̫̱͕̗̰̼̘͜a̼̩͖͇̠͈̣͝c̙͍k̖̱̹͍͘i̢n̨̺̝͇͇̟͙ģ̫̮͎̻̟ͅ ̕n̼̺͈͞u̮͙m̺̭̟̗͞e̞͓̰̤͓̫r̵o̖ṷs҉̪͍̭̬̝̤ ̮͉̝̞̗̟͠d̴̟̜̱͕͚i͇̫̼̯̭̜͡ḁ͙̻̼c̲̲̹r̨̠̹̣̰̦i̱t̤̻̤͍͙̘̕i̵̜̭̤̱͎c̵s ͘o̱̲͈̙͖͇̲͢n͘ ̜͈e̬̲̠̩ac͕̺̠͉h̷̪ ̺̣͖̱ḻ̫̬̝̹ḙ̙̺͙̭͓̲t̞̞͇̲͉͍t̷͔̪͉̲̻̠͙e̦̻͈͉͇r͇̭̭̬͖,̖́ ̜͙͓̣̭s̘̘͈o̱̰̤̲ͅ ̛̬̜̙t̼̦͕̱̹͕̥h̳̲͈͝ͅa̦t̻̲ ̻̟̭̦̖t̛̰̩h̠͕̳̝̫͕e͈̤̘͖̞͘y҉̝͙ ̷͉͔̰̠o̞̰v͈͈̳̘͜er̶f̰͈͔ḻ͕̘̫̺̲o̲̭͙͠ͅw̱̳̺ ͜t̸h͇̭͕̳͍e̖̯̟̠ ͍̞̜͔̩̪͜ļ͎̪̲͚i̝̲̹̙̩̹n̨̦̩̖ḙ̼̲̼͢ͅ ̬͝s̼͚̘̞͝p͙̘̻a̙c҉͉̜̤͈̯̖i̥͡n̦̠̱͟g̸̗̻̦̭̮̟ͅ ̳̪̠͖̳̯̕a̫͜n͝d͡ ̣̦̙ͅc̪̗r̴͙̮̦̹̳e͇͚̞͔̹̫͟a̙̺̙ț͔͎̘̹ͅe̥̩͍ a͖̪̜̮͙̹n̢͉̝ ͇͉͓̦̼́a̳͖̪̤̱p̖͔͔̟͇͎͠p̱͍̺ę̲͎͈̰̲̤̫a̯͜r̨̮̫̣̘a̩̯͖n̹̦̰͎̣̞̞c̨̦̱͔͎͍͖e̬͓͘ ̤̰̩͙̤̬͙o̵̼̻̬̻͇̮̪f̴ ̡̙̭͓͖̪̤“̸͙̠̼c̳̗͜o͏̼͙͔̮r̞̫̺̞̥̬ru̺̻̯͉̭̻̯p̰̥͓̣̫̙̤͢t̳͍̳̖ͅi̶͈̝͙̼̙̹o̡͔n̙̺̹̖̩͝ͅ”̨̗͖͚̩.̯͓ A few other places where dynamic character composition shows up in Unicode: Vowel-pointing notation in Arabic and Hebrew. In these languages, words are normally spelled with some of their vowels left out. They then have diacritic notation to indicate the vowels (used in dictionaries, language-teaching materials, children’s books, and such). These diacritics are expressed with combining marks. A Hebrew example, with niqqud:\tאֶת דַלְתִּי הֵזִיז הֵנִיעַ, קֶטֶב לִשְׁכַּתִּי יָשׁוֹד Normal writing (no niqqud):\tאת דלתי הזיז הניע, קטב לשכתי ישוד Devanagari, the script used to write Hindi, Sanskrit, and many other South Asian languages, expresses certain vowels as combining marks attached to consonant letters. For example, “ह” + “\u200bि” = “हि” (“h” + “i” = “hi”). Korean characters stand for syllables, but they are composed of letters called jamo that stand for the vowels and consonants in the syllable. While there are code points for precomposed Korean syllables, it’s also possible to dynamically compose them by concatenating their jamo. For example, “ᄒ” + “ᅡ” + “ᆫ” = “한” (“h” + “a” + “n” = “han”). Canonical Equivalence In Unicode, precomposed characters exist alongside the dynamic composition system. A consequence of this is that there are multiple ways to express “the same” string—different sequences of code points that result in the same user-perceived characters. For example, as we saw earlier, we can express the character “Á” either as the single code point U+00C1, or as the string of two code points U+0041 U+0301. Another source of ambiguity is the ordering of multiple diacritics in a single character. Diacritic order matters visually when two diacritics apply to the same side of the base character, e.g. both above: “ǡ” (dot, then macron) is different from “ā̇” (macron, then dot). However, when diacritics apply to different sides of the character, e.g. one above and one below, then the order doesn’t affect rendering. Moreover, a character with multiple diacritics might have one of the diacritics precomposed and others expressed as combining marks. For example, the Vietnamese letter “ệ” can be expressed in five different ways: Fully precomposed: U+1EC7 “ệ” Partially precomposed: U+1EB9 “ẹ” + U+0302 “◌̂” Partially precomposed: U+00EA “ê” + U+0323 “◌̣” Fully decomposed: U+0065 “e” + U+0323 “◌̣” + U+0302 “◌̂” Fully decomposed: U+0065 “e” + U+0302 “◌̂” + U+0323 “◌̣” Unicode refers to set of strings like this as “canonically equivalent”. Canonically equivalent strings are supposed to be treated as identical for purposes of searching, sorting, rendering, text selection, and so on. This has implications for how you implement operations on text. For example, if an app has a “find in file” operation and the user searches for “ệ”, it should, by default, find occurrences of any of the five versions of “ệ” above! Normalization Forms To address the problem of “how to handle canonically equivalent strings”, Unicode defines several normalization forms: ways of converting strings into a canonical form so that they can be compared code-point-by-code-point (or byte-by-byte). The “NFD” normalization form fully decomposes every character down to its component base and combining marks, taking apart any precomposed code points in the string. It also sorts the combining marks in each character according to their rendered position, so e.g. diacritics that go below the character come before the ones that go above the character. (It doesn’t reorder diacritics in the same rendered position, since their order matters visually, as previously mentioned.) The “NFC” form, conversely, puts things back together into precomposed code points as much as possible. If an unusual combination of diacritics is called for, there may not be any precomposed code point for it, in which case NFC still precomposes what it can and leaves any remaining combining marks in place (again ordered by rendered position, as in NFD). There are also forms called NFKD and NFKC. The “K” here refers to compatibility decompositions, which cover characters that are “similar” in some sense but not visually identical. However, I’m not going to cover that here. Grapheme Clusters As we’ve seen, Unicode contains various cases where a thing that a user thinks of as a single “character” might actually be made up of multiple code points under the hood. Unicode formalizes this using the notion of a grapheme cluster: a string of one or more code points that constitute a single “user-perceived character”. UAX #29 defines the rules for what, precisely, qualifies as a grapheme cluster. It’s approximately “a base code point followed by any number of combining marks”, but the actual definition is a bit more complicated; it accounts for things like Korean jamo, and emoji ZWJ sequences. The main thing grapheme clusters are used for is text editing: they’re often the most sensible unit for cursor placement and text selection boundaries. Using grapheme clusters for these purposes ensures that you can’t accidentally chop off some diacritics when you copy-and-paste text, that left/right arrow keys always move the cursor by one visible character, and so on. Another place where grapheme clusters are useful is in enforcing a string length limit—say, on a database field. While the true, underlying limit might be something like the byte length of the string in UTF-8, you wouldn’t want to enforce that by just truncating bytes. At a minimum, you’d want to “round down” to the nearest code point boundary; but even better, round down to the nearest grapheme cluster boundary. Otherwise, you might be corrupting the last character by cutting off a diacritic, or interrupting a jamo sequence or ZWJ sequence. And More… There’s much more that could be said about Unicode from a programmer’s perspective! I haven’t gotten into such fun topics as case mapping, collation, compatibility decompositions and confusables, Unicode-aware regexes, or bidirectional text. Nor have I said anything yet about implementation issues—how to efficiently store and look-up data about the sparsely-assigned code points, or how to optimize UTF-8 decoding, string comparison, or NFC normalization. Perhaps I’ll return to some of those things in future posts. Unicode is a fascinating and complex system. It has a many-to-one mapping between bytes and code points, and on top of that a many-to-one (or, under some circumstances, many-to-many) mapping between code points and “characters”. It has oddball special cases in every corner. But no one ever claimed that representing all written languages was going to be easy, and it’s clear that we’re never going back to the bad old days of a patchwork of incompatible encodings. Further reading: The Unicode Standard UTF-8 Everywhere Manifesto Dark corners of Unicode by Eevee ICU (International Components for Unicode)—C/C++/Java libraries implementing many Unicode algorithms and related things Python 3 Unicode Howto Google Noto Fonts—set of fonts intended to cover all assigned code points - -First Citizen: -Before we proceed any further, hear me speak. - -All: -Speak, speak. - -First Citizen: -You are all resolved rather to die than to famish? - -All: -Resolved. resolved. - -First Citizen: -First, you know Caius Marcius is chief enemy to the people. - -All: -We know't, we know't. - -First Citizen: -Let us kill him, and we'll have corn at our own price. -Is't a verdict? - -All: -No more talking on't; let it be done: away, away! - -Second Citizen: -One word, good citizens. - -First Citizen: -We are accounted poor citizens, the patricians good. -What authority surfeits on would relieve us: if they -would yield us but the superfluity, while it were -wholesome, we might guess they relieved us humanely; -but they think we are too dear: the leanness that -afflicts us, the object of our misery, is as an -inventory to particularise their abundance; our -sufferance is a gain to them Let us revenge this with -our pikes, ere we become rakes: for the gods know I -speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge. - -Second Citizen: -Would you proceed especially against Caius Marcius? - -All: -Against him first: he's a very dog to the commonalty. - -Second Citizen: -Consider you what services he has done for his country? - -First Citizen: -Very well; and could be content to give him good -report fort, but that he pays himself with being proud. - -Second Citizen: -Nay, but speak not maliciously. - -First Citizen: -I say unto you, what he hath done famously, he did -it to that end: though soft-conscienced men can be -content to say it was for his country he did it to -please his mother and to be partly proud; which he -is, even till the altitude of his virtue. - -Second Citizen: -What he cannot help in his nature, you account a -vice in him. You must in no way say he is covetous. - -First Citizen: -If I must not, I need not be barren of accusations; -he hath faults, with surplus, to tire in repetition. -What shouts are these? The other side o' the city -is risen: why stay we prating here? to the Capitol! - -All: -Come, come. - -First Citizen: -Soft! who comes here? - -Second Citizen: -Worthy Menenius Agrippa; one that hath always loved -the people. - -First Citizen: -He's one honest enough: would all the rest were so! - -MENENIUS: -What work's, my countrymen, in hand? where go you -With bats and clubs? The matter? speak, I pray you. - -First Citizen: -Our business is not unknown to the senate; they have -had inkling this fortnight what we intend to do, -which now we'll show 'em in deeds. They say poor -suitors have strong breaths: they shall know we -have strong arms too. - -MENENIUS: -Why, masters, my good friends, mine honest neighbours, -Will you undo yourselves? - -First Citizen: -We cannot, sir, we are undone already. - -MENENIUS: -I tell you, friends, most charitable care -Have the patricians of you. For your wants, -Your suffering in this dearth, you may as well -Strike at the heaven with your staves as lift them -Against the Roman state, whose course will on -The way it takes, cracking ten thousand curbs -Of more strong link asunder than can ever -Appear in your impediment. For the dearth, -The gods, not the patricians, make it, and -Your knees to them, not arms, must help. Alack, -You are transported by calamity -Thither where more attends you, and you slander -The helms o' the state, who care for you like fathers, -When you curse them as enemies. - -First Citizen: -Care for us! True, indeed! They ne'er cared for us -yet: suffer us to famish, and their store-houses -crammed with grain; make edicts for usury, to -support usurers; repeal daily any wholesome act -established against the rich, and provide more -piercing statutes daily, to chain up and restrain -the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will; and -there's all the love they bear us. - -MENENIUS: -Either you must -Confess yourselves wondrous malicious, -Or be accused of folly. I shall tell you -A pretty tale: it may be you have heard it; -But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture -To stale 't a little more. - -First Citizen: -Well, I'll hear it, sir: yet you must not think to -fob off our disgrace with a tale: but, an 't please -you, deliver. - -MENENIUS: -There was a time when all the body's members -Rebell'd against the belly, thus accused it: -That only like a gulf it did remain -I' the midst o' the body, idle and unactive, -Still cupboarding the viand, never bearing -Like labour with the rest, where the other instruments -Did see and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel, -And, mutually participate, did minister -Unto the appetite and affection common -Of the whole body. The belly answer'd-- - -First Citizen: -Well, sir, what answer made the belly? - -MENENIUS: -Sir, I shall tell you. With a kind of smile, -Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even thus-- -For, look you, I may make the belly smile -As well as speak--it tauntingly replied -To the discontented members, the mutinous parts -That envied his receipt; even so most fitly -As you malign our senators for that -They are not such as you. - -First Citizen: -Your belly's answer? What! -The kingly-crowned head, the vigilant eye, -The counsellor heart, the arm our soldier, -Our steed the leg, the tongue our trumpeter. -With other muniments and petty helps -In this our fabric, if that they-- - -MENENIUS: -What then? -'Fore me, this fellow speaks! What then? what then? - -First Citizen: -Should by the cormorant belly be restrain'd, -Who is the sink o' the body,-- - -MENENIUS: -Well, what then? - -First Citizen: -The former agents, if they did complain, -What could the belly answer? - -MENENIUS: -I will tell you -If you'll bestow a small--of what you have little-- -Patience awhile, you'll hear the belly's answer. - -First Citizen: -Ye're long about it. - -MENENIUS: -Note me this, good friend; -Your most grave belly was deliberate, -Not rash like his accusers, and thus answer'd: -'True is it, my incorporate friends,' quoth he, -'That I receive the general food at first, -Which you do live upon; and fit it is, -Because I am the store-house and the shop -Of the whole body: but, if you do remember, -I send it through the rivers of your blood, -Even to the court, the heart, to the seat o' the brain; -And, through the cranks and offices of man, -The strongest nerves and small inferior veins -From me receive that natural competency -Whereby they live: and though that all at once, -You, my good friends,'--this says the belly, mark me,-- - -First Citizen: -Ay, sir; well, well. - -MENENIUS: -'Though all at once cannot -See what I do deliver out to each, -Yet I can make my audit up, that all -From me do back receive the flour of all, -And leave me but the bran.' What say you to't? - -First Citizen: -It was an answer: how apply you this? - -MENENIUS: -The senators of Rome are this good belly, -And you the mutinous members; for examine -Their counsels and their cares, digest things rightly -Touching the weal o' the common, you shall find -No public benefit which you receive -But it proceeds or comes from them to you -And no way from yourselves. What do you think, -You, the great toe of this assembly? - -First Citizen: -I the great toe! why the great toe? - -MENENIUS: -For that, being one o' the lowest, basest, poorest, -Of this most wise rebellion, thou go'st foremost: -Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run, -Lead'st first to win some vantage. -But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs: -Rome and her rats are at the point of battle; -The one side must have bale. -Hail, noble Marcius! - -MARCIUS: -Thanks. What's the matter, you dissentious rogues, -That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, -Make yourselves scabs? - -First Citizen: -We have ever your good word. - -MARCIUS: -He that will give good words to thee will flatter -Beneath abhorring. What would you have, you curs, -That like nor peace nor war? the one affrights you, -The other makes you proud. He that trusts to you, -Where he should find you lions, finds you hares; -Where foxes, geese: you are no surer, no, -Than is the coal of fire upon the ice, -Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is -To make him worthy whose offence subdues him -And curse that justice did it. -Who deserves greatness -Deserves your hate; and your affections are -A sick man's appetite, who desires most that -Which would increase his evil. He that depends -Upon your favours swims with fins of lead -And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye! Trust Ye? -With every minute you do change a mind, -And call him noble that was now your hate, -Him vile that was your garland. What's the matter, -That in these several places of the city -You cry against the noble senate, who, -Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else -Would feed on one another? What's their seeking? - -MENENIUS: -For corn at their own rates; whereof, they say, -The city is well stored. - -MARCIUS: -Hang 'em! They say! -They'll sit by the fire, and presume to know -What's done i' the Capitol; who's like to rise, -Who thrives and who declines; side factions -and give out -Conjectural marriages; making parties strong -And feebling such as stand not in their liking -Below their cobbled shoes. They say there's -grain enough! -Would the nobility lay aside their ruth, -And let me use my sword, I'll make a quarry -With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, as high -As I could pick my lance. - -MENENIUS: -Nay, these are almost thoroughly persuaded; -For though abundantly they lack discretion, -Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseech you, -What says the other troop? - -MARCIUS: -They are dissolved: hang 'em! -They said they were an-hungry; sigh'd forth proverbs, -That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat, -That meat was made for mouths, that the gods sent not -Corn for the rich men only: with these shreds -They vented their complainings; which being answer'd, -And a petition granted them, a strange one-- -To break the heart of generosity, -And make bold power look pale--they threw their caps -As they would hang them on the horns o' the moon, -Shouting their emulation. - -MENENIUS: -What is granted them? - -MARCIUS: -Five tribunes to defend their vulgar wisdoms, -Of their own choice: one's Junius Brutus, -Sicinius Velutus, and I know not--'Sdeath! -The rabble should have first unroof'd the city, -Ere so prevail'd with me: it will in time -Win upon power and throw forth greater themes -For insurrection's arguing. - -MENENIUS: -This is strange. - -MARCIUS: -Go, get you home, you fragments! - -Messenger: -Where's Caius Marcius? - -MARCIUS: -Here: what's the matter? - -Messenger: -The news is, sir, the Volsces are in arms. - -MARCIUS: -I am glad on 't: then we shall ha' means to vent -Our musty superfluity. See, our best elders. - -First Senator: -Marcius, 'tis true that you have lately told us; -The Volsces are in arms. - -MARCIUS: -They have a leader, -Tullus Aufidius, that will put you to 't. -I sin in envying his nobility, -And were I any thing but what I am, -I would wish me only he. - -COMINIUS: -You have fought together. - -MARCIUS: -Were half to half the world by the ears and he. -Upon my party, I'ld revolt to make -Only my wars with him: he is a lion -That I am proud to hunt. - -First Senator: -Then, worthy Marcius, -Attend upon Cominius to these wars. - -COMINIUS: -It is your former promise. - -MARCIUS: -Sir, it is; -And I am constant. Titus Lartius, thou -Shalt see me once more strike at Tullus' face. -What, art thou stiff? stand'st out? - -TITUS: -No, Caius Marcius; -I'll lean upon one crutch and fight with t'other, -Ere stay behind this business. - -MENENIUS: -O, true-bred! - -First Senator: -Your company to the Capitol; where, I know, -Our greatest friends attend us. - -TITUS: - -COMINIUS: -Noble Marcius! - -First Senator: - -MARCIUS: -Nay, let them follow: -The Volsces have much corn; take these rats thither -To gnaw their garners. Worshipful mutiners, -Your valour puts well forth: pray, follow. - -SICINIUS: -Was ever man so proud as is this Marcius? - -BRUTUS: -He has no equal. - -SICINIUS: -When we were chosen tribunes for the people,-- - -BRUTUS: -Mark'd you his lip and eyes? - -SICINIUS: -Nay. but his taunts. - -BRUTUS: -Being moved, he will not spare to gird the gods. - -SICINIUS: -Be-mock the modest moon. - -BRUTUS: -The present wars devour him: he is grown -Too proud to be so valiant. - -SICINIUS: -Such a nature, -Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow -Which he treads on at noon: but I do wonder -His insolence can brook to be commanded -Under Cominius. - -BRUTUS: -Fame, at the which he aims, -In whom already he's well graced, can not -Better be held nor more attain'd than by -A place below the first: for what miscarries -Shall be the general's fault, though he perform -To the utmost of a man, and giddy censure -Will then cry out of Marcius 'O if he -Had borne the business!' - -SICINIUS: -Besides, if things go well, -Opinion that so sticks on Marcius shall -Of his demerits rob Cominius. - -BRUTUS: -Come: -Half all Cominius' honours are to Marcius. -Though Marcius earned them not, and all his faults -To Marcius shall be honours, though indeed -In aught he merit not. - -SICINIUS: -Let's hence, and hear -How the dispatch is made, and in what fashion, -More than his singularity, he goes -Upon this present action. - -BRUTUS: -Lets along. - -First Senator: -So, your opinion is, Aufidius, -That they of Rome are entered in our counsels -And know how we proceed. - -AUFIDIUS: -Is it not yours? -What ever have been thought on in this state, -That could be brought to bodily act ere Rome -Had circumvention? 'Tis not four days gone -Since I heard thence; these are the words: I think -I have the letter here; yes, here it is. -'They have press'd a power, but it is not known -Whether for east or west: the dearth is great; -The people mutinous; and it is rumour'd, -Cominius, Marcius your old enemy, -Who is of Rome worse hated than of you, -And Titus Lartius, a most valiant Roman, -These three lead on this preparation -Whither 'tis bent: most likely 'tis for you: -Consider of it.' - -First Senator: -Our army's in the field -We never yet made doubt but Rome was ready -To answer us. - -AUFIDIUS: -Nor did you think it folly -To keep your great pretences veil'd till when -They needs must show themselves; which -in the hatching, -It seem'd, appear'd to Rome. By the discovery. -We shall be shorten'd in our aim, which was -To take in many towns ere almost Rome -Should know we were afoot. - -Second Senator: -Noble Aufidius, -Take your commission; hie you to your bands: -Let us alone to guard Corioli: -If they set down before 's, for the remove -Bring your army; but, I think, you'll find -They've not prepared for us. - -AUFIDIUS: -O, doubt not that; -I speak from certainties. Nay, more, -Some parcels of their power are forth already, -And only hitherward. I leave your honours. -If we and Caius Marcius chance to meet, -'Tis sworn between us we shall ever strike -Till one can do no more. - -All: -The gods assist you! - -AUFIDIUS: -And keep your honours safe! - -First Senator: -Farewell. - -Second Senator: -Farewell. - -All: -Farewell. - -VOLUMNIA: -I pray you, daughter, sing; or express yourself in a -more comfortable sort: if my son were my husband, I -should freelier rejoice in that absence wherein he -won honour than in the embracements of his bed where -he would show most love. When yet he was but -tender-bodied and the only son of my womb, when -youth with comeliness plucked all gaze his way, when -for a day of kings' entreaties a mother should not -sell him an hour from her beholding, I, considering -how honour would become such a person. that it was -no better than picture-like to hang by the wall, if -renown made it not stir, was pleased to let him seek -danger where he was like to find fame. To a cruel -war I sent him; from whence he returned, his brows -bound with oak. I tell thee, daughter, I sprang not -more in joy at first hearing he was a man-child -than now in first seeing he had proved himself a -man. - -VIRGILIA: -But had he died in the business, madam; how then? - -VOLUMNIA: -Then his good report should have been my son; I -therein would have found issue. Hear me profess -sincerely: had I a dozen sons, each in my love -alike and none less dear than thine and my good -Marcius, I had rather had eleven die nobly for their -country than one voluptuously surfeit out of action. - -Gentlewoman: -Madam, the Lady Valeria is come to visit you. - -VIRGILIA: -Beseech you, give me leave to retire myself. - -VOLUMNIA: -Indeed, you shall not. -Methinks I hear hither your husband's drum, -See him pluck Aufidius down by the hair, -As children from a bear, the Volsces shunning him: -Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call thus: -'Come on, you cowards! you were got in fear, -Though you were born in Rome:' his bloody brow -With his mail'd hand then wiping, forth he goes, -Like to a harvest-man that's task'd to mow -Or all or lose his hire. - -VIRGILIA: -His bloody brow! O Jupiter, no blood! - -VOLUMNIA: -Away, you fool! it more becomes a man -Than gilt his trophy: the breasts of Hecuba, -When she did suckle Hector, look'd not lovelier -Than Hector's forehead when it spit forth blood -At Grecian sword, contemning. Tell Valeria, -We are fit to bid her welcome. - -VIRGILIA: -Heavens bless my lord from fell Aufidius! - -VOLUMNIA: -He'll beat Aufidius 'head below his knee -And tread upon his neck. - -VALERIA: -My ladies both, good day to you. - -VOLUMNIA: -Sweet madam. - -VIRGILIA: -I am glad to see your ladyship. - -VALERIA: -How do you both? you are manifest house-keepers. -What are you sewing here? A fine spot, in good -faith. How does your little son? - -VIRGILIA: -I thank your ladyship; well, good madam. - -VOLUMNIA: -He had rather see the swords, and hear a drum, than -look upon his school-master. - -VALERIA: -O' my word, the father's son: I'll swear,'tis a -very pretty boy. O' my troth, I looked upon him o' -Wednesday half an hour together: has such a -confirmed countenance. I saw him run after a gilded -butterfly: and when he caught it, he let it go -again; and after it again; and over and over he -comes, and again; catched it again; or whether his -fall enraged him, or how 'twas, he did so set his -teeth and tear it; O, I warrant it, how he mammocked -it! - -VOLUMNIA: -One on 's father's moods. - -VALERIA: -Indeed, la, 'tis a noble child. - -VIRGILIA: -A crack, madam. - -VALERIA: -Come, lay aside your stitchery; I must have you play -the idle husewife with me this afternoon. - -VIRGILIA: -No, good madam; I will not out of doors. - -VALERIA: -Not out of doors! - -VOLUMNIA: -She shall, she shall. - -VIRGILIA: -Indeed, no, by your patience; I'll not over the -threshold till my lord return from the wars. - -VALERIA: -Fie, you confine yourself most unreasonably: come, -you must go visit the good lady that lies in. - -VIRGILIA: -I will wish her speedy strength, and visit her with -my prayers; but I cannot go thither. - -VOLUMNIA: -Why, I pray you? - -VIRGILIA: -'Tis not to save labour, nor that I want love. - -VALERIA: -You would be another Penelope: yet, they say, all -the yarn she spun in Ulysses' absence did but fill -Ithaca full of moths. Come; I would your cambric -were sensible as your finger, that you might leave -pricking it for pity. Come, you shall go with us. - -VIRGILIA: -No, good madam, pardon me; indeed, I will not forth. - -VALERIA: -In truth, la, go with me; and I'll tell you -excellent news of your husband. - -VIRGILIA: -O, good madam, there can be none yet. - -VALERIA: -Verily, I do not jest with you; there came news from -him last night. - -VIRGILIA: -Indeed, madam? - -VALERIA: -In earnest, it's true; I heard a senator speak it. -Thus it is: the Volsces have an army forth; against -whom Cominius the general is gone, with one part of -our Roman power: your lord and Titus Lartius are set -down before their city Corioli; they nothing doubt -prevailing and to make it brief wars. This is true, -on mine honour; and so, I pray, go with us. - -VIRGILIA: -Give me excuse, good madam; I will obey you in every -thing hereafter. - -VOLUMNIA: -Let her alone, lady: as she is now, she will but -disease our better mirth. - -VALERIA: -In troth, I think she would. Fare you well, then. -Come, good sweet lady. Prithee, Virgilia, turn thy -solemness out o' door. and go along with us. - -VIRGILIA: -No, at a word, madam; indeed, I must not. I wish -you much mirth. - -VALERIA: -Well, then, farewell. - -MARCIUS: -Yonder comes news. A wager they have met. - -LARTIUS: -My horse to yours, no. - -MARCIUS: -'Tis done. - -LARTIUS: -Agreed. - -MARCIUS: -Say, has our general met the enemy? - -Messenger: -They lie in view; but have not spoke as yet. - -LARTIUS: -So, the good horse is mine. - -MARCIUS: -I'll buy him of you. - -LARTIUS: -No, I'll nor sell nor give him: lend you him I will -For half a hundred years. Summon the town. - -MARCIUS: -How far off lie these armies? - -Messenger: -Within this mile and half. - -MARCIUS: -Then shall we hear their 'larum, and they ours. -Now, Mars, I prithee, make us quick in work, -That we with smoking swords may march from hence, -To help our fielded friends! Come, blow thy blast. -Tutus Aufidius, is he within your walls? - -First Senator: -No, nor a man that fears you less than he, -That's lesser than a little. -Hark! our drums -Are bringing forth our youth. We'll break our walls, -Rather than they shall pound us up: our gates, -Which yet seem shut, we, have but pinn'd with rushes; -They'll open of themselves. -Hark you. far off! -There is Aufidius; list, what work he makes -Amongst your cloven army. - -MARCIUS: -O, they are at it! - -LARTIUS: -Their noise be our instruction. Ladders, ho! - -MARCIUS: -They fear us not, but issue forth their city. -Now put your shields before your hearts, and fight -With hearts more proof than shields. Advance, -brave Titus: -They do disdain us much beyond our thoughts, -Which makes me sweat with wrath. Come on, my fellows: -He that retires I'll take him for a Volsce, -And he shall feel mine edge. - -MARCIUS: -All the contagion of the south light on you, -You shames of Rome! you herd of--Boils and plagues -Plaster you o'er, that you may be abhorr'd -Further than seen and one infect another -Against the wind a mile! You souls of geese, -That bear the shapes of men, how have you run -From slaves that apes would beat! Pluto and hell! -All hurt behind; backs red, and faces pale -With flight and agued fear! Mend and charge home, -Or, by the fires of heaven, I'll leave the foe -And make my wars on you: look to't: come on; -If you'll stand fast, we'll beat them to their wives, -As they us to our trenches followed. -So, now the gates are ope: now prove good seconds: -'Tis for the followers fortune widens them, -Not for the fliers: mark me, and do the like. - -First Soldier: -Fool-hardiness; not I. - -Second Soldier: -Nor I. - -First Soldier: -See, they have shut him in. - -All: -To the pot, I warrant him. - -LARTIUS: -What is become of Marcius? - -All: -Slain, sir, doubtless. - -First Soldier: -Following the fliers at the very heels, -With them he enters; who, upon the sudden, -Clapp'd to their gates: he is himself alone, -To answer all the city. - -LARTIUS: -O noble fellow! -Who sensibly outdares his senseless sword, -And, when it bows, stands up. Thou art left, Marcius: -A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art, -Were not so rich a jewel. Thou wast a soldier -Even to Cato's wish, not fierce and terrible -Only in strokes; but, with thy grim looks and -The thunder-like percussion of thy sounds, -Thou madst thine enemies shake, as if the world -Were feverous and did tremble. - -First Soldier: -Look, sir. - -LARTIUS: -O,'tis Marcius! -Let's fetch him off, or make remain alike. - -First Roman: -This will I carry to Rome. - -Second Roman: -And I this. - -Third Roman: -A murrain on't! I took this for silver. - -MARCIUS: -See here these movers that do prize their hours -At a crack'd drachm! Cushions, leaden spoons, -Irons of a doit, doublets that hangmen would -Bury with those that wore them, these base slaves, -Ere yet the fight be done, pack up: down with them! -And hark, what noise the general makes! To him! -There is the man of my soul's hate, Aufidius, -Piercing our Romans: then, valiant Titus, take -Convenient numbers to make good the city; -Whilst I, with those that have the spirit, will haste -To help Cominius. - -LARTIUS: -Worthy sir, thou bleed'st; -Thy exercise hath been too violent for -A second course of fight. - -MARCIUS: -Sir, praise me not; -My work hath yet not warm'd me: fare you well: -The blood I drop is rather physical -Than dangerous to me: to Aufidius thus -I will appear, and fight. - -LARTIUS: -Now the fair goddess, Fortune, -Fall deep in love with thee; and her great charms -Misguide thy opposers' swords! Bold gentleman, -Prosperity be thy page! - -MARCIUS: -Thy friend no less -Than those she placeth highest! So, farewell. - -LARTIUS: -Thou worthiest Marcius! -Go, sound thy trumpet in the market-place; -Call thither all the officers o' the town, -Where they shall know our mind: away! - -COMINIUS: -Breathe you, my friends: well fought; -we are come off -Like Romans, neither foolish in our stands, -Nor cowardly in retire: believe me, sirs, -We shall be charged again. Whiles we have struck, -By interims and conveying gusts we have heard -The charges of our friends. Ye Roman gods! -Lead their successes as we wish our own, -That both our powers, with smiling -fronts encountering, -May give you thankful sacrifice. -Thy news? - -Messenger: -The citizens of Corioli have issued, -And given to Lartius and to Marcius battle: -I saw our party to their trenches driven, -And then I came away. - -COMINIUS: -Though thou speak'st truth, -Methinks thou speak'st not well. -How long is't since? - -Messenger: -Above an hour, my lord. - -COMINIUS: -'Tis not a mile; briefly we heard their drums: -How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour, -And bring thy news so late? - -Messenger: -Spies of the Volsces -Held me in chase, that I was forced to wheel -Three or four miles about, else had I, sir, -Half an hour since brought my report. - -COMINIUS: -Who's yonder, -That does appear as he were flay'd? O gods -He has the stamp of Marcius; and I have -Before-time seen him thus. - -MARCIUS: - -COMINIUS: -The shepherd knows not thunder from a tabour -More than I know the sound of Marcius' tongue -From every meaner man. - -MARCIUS: -Come I too late? - -COMINIUS: -Ay, if you come not in the blood of others, -But mantled in your own. - -MARCIUS: -O, let me clip ye -In arms as sound as when I woo'd, in heart -As merry as when our nuptial day was done, -And tapers burn'd to bedward! - -COMINIUS: -Flower of warriors, -How is it with Titus Lartius? - -MARCIUS: -As with a man busied about decrees: -Condemning some to death, and some to exile; -Ransoming him, or pitying, threatening the other; -Holding Corioli in the name of Rome, -Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash, -To let him slip at will. - -COMINIUS: -Where is that slave -Which told me they had beat you to your trenches? -Where is he? call him hither. - -MARCIUS: -Let him alone; -He did inform the truth: but for our gentlemen, -The common file--a plague! tribunes for them!-- -The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat as they did budge -From rascals worse than they. - -COMINIUS: -But how prevail'd you? - -MARCIUS: -Will the time serve to tell? I do not think. -Where is the enemy? are you lords o' the field? -If not, why cease you till you are so? - -COMINIUS: -Marcius, -We have at disadvantage fought and did -Retire to win our purpose. - -MARCIUS: -How lies their battle? know you on which side -They have placed their men of trust? - -COMINIUS: -As I guess, Marcius, -Their bands i' the vaward are the Antiates, -Of their best trust; o'er them Aufidius, -Their very heart of hope. - -MARCIUS: -I do beseech you, -By all the battles wherein we have fought, -By the blood we have shed together, by the vows -We have made to endure friends, that you directly -Set me against Aufidius and his Antiates; -And that you not delay the present, but, -Filling the air with swords advanced and darts, -We prove this very hour. - -COMINIUS: -Though I could wish -You were conducted to a gentle bath -And balms applied to, you, yet dare I never -Deny your asking: take your choice of those -That best can aid your action. - -MARCIUS: -Those are they -That most are willing. If any such be here-- -As it were sin to doubt--that love this painting -Wherein you see me smear'd; if any fear -Lesser his person than an ill report; -If any think brave death outweighs bad life -And that his country's dearer than himself; -Let him alone, or so many so minded, -Wave thus, to express his disposition, -And follow Marcius. -O, me alone! make you a sword of me? -If these shows be not outward, which of you -But is four Volsces? none of you but is -Able to bear against the great Aufidius -A shield as hard as his. A certain number, -Though thanks to all, must I select -from all: the rest -Shall bear the business in some other fight, -As cause will be obey'd. Please you to march; -And four shall quickly draw out my command, -Which men are best inclined. - -COMINIUS: -March on, my fellows: -Make good this ostentation, and you shall -Divide in all with us. - -LARTIUS: -So, let the ports be guarded: keep your duties, -As I have set them down. If I do send, dispatch -Those centuries to our aid: the rest will serve -For a short holding: if we lose the field, -We cannot keep the town. - -Lieutenant: -Fear not our care, sir. - -LARTIUS: -Hence, and shut your gates upon's. -Our guider, come; to the Roman camp conduct us. - -MARCIUS: -I'll fight with none but thee; for I do hate thee -Worse than a promise-breaker. - -AUFIDIUS: -We hate alike: -Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor -More than thy fame and envy. Fix thy foot. - -MARCIUS: -Let the first budger die the other's slave, -And the gods doom him after! - -A Bengaluru court granted bail to yet another accused in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, reported Bar and Bench. - -With the court granting bail to Sharad Bhausaheb Kalaskar, all of the 17 accused persons facing trial in the case are now out. One of the accused is on the run and yet to be arrested. - -While granting bail to Kalaskar on January 8, Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge Muralidhara Pai B noted that Kalaskar had been in jail since 2018 and the trial was unlikely to conclude soon. - -The court also held that the accused was entitled to bail on the ground of parity. “As already pointed out, as on this day all the accused facing trial in the case except the petitioner are on bail. As such the petitioner is entitled for bail even on the ground of parity,” the court said. - -While the prosecution argued that Kalaskar was a repeat offender and could commit another crime, the court noted that the Supreme Court has repeatedly reiterated an accused’s fundamental right to a speedy trial to protect their personal liberty. - -Last year in October, a sessions court had granted bail to eight persons accused in the case. Two of the accused, Parashuram Waghmore and Manohar Yadavem, were given a rousing welcome and adorned with garlands by members of some right-wing organisations on their arrival in their hometown of Vijayapura in Karnataka. - -Lankesh, 55, had been the editor of Lankesh Patrike, a weekly Kannada tabloud, when she was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru in 2017. Months before her death, she told Newslaundry about the “rabid hate” she received from the “Hindutva brigade”. Read this piece in Newslaundry on a friend’s last conversation with Gauri hours before her murder. - -Journalists and journalism are under threat in India today, and we need your help more than ever. Click here to subscribe to Newslaundry, and support journalism that holds those in power to account. - -Intestines protruding from the stomach, a blackened face, bruises on legs and hands, more than a dozen gunshot injuries, and swollen testicles – that’s how the body of 37-year-old Bhalchandra Yadav looked like as it was laid on a pyre before cremation in his Padwaniya village of Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district. - -That’s how it also looks like in pictures taken by the local press and his family, who have been citing them as evidence to challenge the official version of the death. - -Bhalchandra was killed by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force in an encounter around 20 km away from his home in MP, at the Mado Bandha jungle in east UP’s Chitrakoot district on March 31, 2021. His widow Nathuniya Devi, 32, has since waged a legal battle against 14 policemen, alleging that he was abducted, tortured, and killed in a “fake encounter”. - -In May this year, the UP police had filed a final report (FR) indicating insufficient evidence to back the “fake encounter” allegations. While the district court is yet to take cognisance of the FR, Nathuniya filed a petition challenging it on October 11. The next hearing is scheduled for December 10. - -Newslaundry has reviewed the 1,400-page final report, documents submitted by the police, including the panchayatnama, postmortem report, FSL report, a letter from the Lucknow-based state medico legal cell (SMLC) and statements of eyewitnesses that form the basis of the police claim to substantiate the encounter as genuine. We also spoke to 20 persons, including Bhalchandra’s family members, legal experts, former police officials, activists who have led fact-finding in encounter cases in UP and eyewitnesses quoted in police records. - -But several major loopholes raise concerns about the police investigating their own in encounter-related cases: - -Support independent media. -We serve you, not the advertisers. Pay to keep news free. - -Subscribe now - - -➨ The panchayatnama had not mentioned all the physical injuries. - -➨ The postmortem report noted “no abnormality detected” for genital organs while the column related to “condition of nails” was not filled. But photos submitted by the family as evidence of alleged torture point to swelling in testicles and removal of nails from both hands. - -➨ Even though the postmortem report referred to the blackening around gunshot wounds suggesting a close range shot, the FSL report estimated the distance between the deceased and police team to be 50 to 60 metres, which is highly unlikely. - -➨ A second opinion by the SMLC concluded that the absence of gunpowder residue in the hands of the shooter does not prove that he didn’t discharge the weapon. Experts say otherwise. - -➨ Statements of eyewitnesses mention receiving news about a police encounter from a charwah (cattle grazer) who they saw running away from the spot. But nobody is able to recall who this cattle grazer is. - -Before the cremation in Satna in 2021. -Before the cremation in Satna in 2021. - -Three gunshot injuries were blackened. -Police claim they fired at Bhalchandra from 50 metres away. But in a widely popular book in legal circles, titled Medical Jurisprudence, authors RM Jhala and VB Raju say carbon particles cannot maintain their force and flight beyond certain distances viz., 18 inches or 45 cms. -Case background: From FIR to FR - -A crumpled transparent polythene bag consisting of some old photos of Bhalchandra, along with photos of his body before the final rites, has been kept carefully by Lalchandra Yadav, an eyewitness in the case and the youngest of three brothers who had gone to drop Bhalchandra for a court hearing in Satna on March 31, 2021. “We are ready for a long fight,” said Lalchandra, sitting outside his house in Padwania, a village mostly inhabited by Yadavs and Adivasis. - -Bhalchandra was the only breadwinner in his family of six, including three sons and one daughter. He was dependent on agriculture and occasional labour under the MGNREGA scheme. “They (UPSTF) kidnapped my husband and then killed him. We came to know later that night when his photos began doing the rounds on social media,” said Nathuniya Devi. - -Almost four months after the encounter, on July 15, 2021, an application was sent on behalf of Nathuniya to the Special Judge at Chitrakoot’s district court. This was the first formal complaint in which a request was made under section 156 (3) – a magistrate can order a preliminary police probe followed by an FIR. - -Nathuniya’s application came after she did not get a response to her letters seeking an FIR, dated April 8, 2021 and addressed to the chief minister, Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, UP additional DGP, National Commission for Backward Classes and National Human Rights Commission. - -“At around 1.30 pm, my husband and brother-in-law had left from Satna district court and had passed by Kothi town when their bike was overtaken by a white Scorpio with STF personnel on board,” stated Nathuniya’s application. According to her, Bhalchandra and his brother Lalchandra were blindfolded and their hands were tied. While Bhalchandra was forced to get on to the four-wheeler, two policemen in plain clothes forcefully sat with Lalchandra on the bike as both the vehicles moved towards the Mado Bandha jungle. - -“I could sense that more policemen awaited us when we stopped near the jungle. They began beating Bhalchandra. Soon I heard three to four rounds of shots being fired,” Lalchandra told Newslaundry. “My brother was 15-20 feet away when they killed him.” - -Other allegations by Bhalchandra’s widow – as mentioned in her 2021 application – were the presence of multiple bruises on body suggesting beating by lathi-danda (bamboo sticks), forced removal of nails from both hands, the body reeking of petrol suggesting forced cremation, and reluctance on part of the UPSTF in handing over the body to family members. Local Congress former MLA Neelanshu Chaturvedi had to intervene before the family received the body for final rites. - -On October 7, 2021, Additional Sessions Judge Vineet Narayan Pandey gave an order in Nathuniya’s favour. Taking cognisance of the photographs, especially those revealing the condition of nails and fingers on hand, the district court had found Bhalchandra’s death to be “suspicious”. Newslaundry has also seen these photographs which were submitted as evidence in court. - -“Whether the death was caused due to police’ action during an encounter in self-defence or whether they (police) went outside the ambit of self-defence is a matter worth probing,” the fast track court order noted. Citing the 2010 NHRC guidelines that prescribe some dos and don'ts for police encounters, including “not using force such as to inflict more harm to the assaulting criminal than is necessary for the purpose of defence of your body and those of others,” the court ordered for filing of an FIR by an officer who is rank-wise senior than the head of the STF team. - -Nine months later, on July 28, 2022, an FIR was finally filed at Chitrakoot’s Bahil Purwa police station naming 14 policemen. - -Nathuniya Devi has been waging a legal battle against 14 cops. -Nathuniya Devi has been waging a legal battle against 14 cops. - -Eyewitness statements are contentious. -Statements of eyewitnesses mention receiving news about a police encounter from a charwah (cattle grazer) who they saw running away from the spot. But nobody is able to recall who this cattle grazer is. Among the eyewitnesses, a journalist’s statement had said his story was published after he ‘found the incident to be true’. “The story was published based on police version,” he told Newslaundry. -From the STF Lucknow team, sub-inspector Amit Kumar Tiwari, sub-inspector Santosh Kumar Singh, head constable Uma Shankar, and constables Bhupendra Singh and Shivanand Shukla were named. The Chitrakoot SWAT officials named were sub-inspector Shravan Kumar Singh, sub-inspector Anil Kumar Sahu, head constable Raees Khan, and constables Dharmendra Kumar Verma and Rahul Yadav. - -Other local officials included Bahil Purwa police station in-charge Deendayal Singh, constable Ramkesh Kushwaha, Markundi police station in-charge Ramesh Chandra, and Chitrakoot SP Ankit Mittal. - -The charges in the FIR included IPC sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 364 (kidnapping) , 396 (dacoity with murder) and 302 (punishment for murder). - -In May 2024, Chitrakoot Deputy SP Jai Karan Singh, who’s the IO (investigating officer) in the case, submitted an FR. “A case had been filed in connection with the death of Bhalchandra Yadav during a police encounter. It is not unnatural for the complainant, Nathuniya Devi, to harbour ill-intentions for the police personnel involved,” stated one of the remarks in the FR. - -“Since a case had been registered against her brother-in-law, Lalchandra”, the FR noted, “this case is aimed at building pressure as an afterthought”. - -“I have filed this case out of my own volition,” Nathuniya told this reporter. Seated among her in-laws, adjusting her veil, she added, “No one has pressured me.” - -If the investigation was ongoing, I could have responded to questions but now that the report has been submitted, it is a matter for the court. -Jai Karan Singh, investigating officer in the case naming 14 cops -Injuries ‘missed’ in panchayatnama - -For Bhalchandra’s family, the first face-to-face interaction with the police began when his father Ram Avtar reached the Sadar District Hospital in Sonepur, Chitrakoot, to identify the body as part of a legal procedure, commonly referred to as panchayatnama. - -On April 1, 2021, Nayab Tehsildar Ramanand Mishra made an entry into a form, known as inquest report, a mandatory requirement under section 174 of CrPC, in “cases involving unnatural deaths or deaths under suspicious circumstances”. The cause of death in this form was noted as “died in a police encounter”. The timing when the information related to the encounter on March 31 reached the nearest Bahil Purwa police station was noted as 7.45 pm. Mishra, along with five other family members of Bhalchandra, officially recognised the corpse. - -Sixty-five-year-old Ram Avtar was among the five panchas (or eyewitnesses) who saw the body in the mortuary. “There were bullet injuries along with signs of being beaten by lathi-danda…Whether they threw stones or something else, but his testicles were abnormally swollen.” - -But the panchayatnama made a note of just 10 injuries, all in the upper part of the body, including a fracture in the right hand. There was no mention of bruises due to alleged beating or swelling in private parts. The removed nails, as visible in photographs of the body, also did not find a mention. - -In his conclusion, Ramanand Mishra noted, “In my opinion, deceased Bhalchandra succumbed to multiple injuries sustained during police encounter. Yet, in order to ascertain the exact cause of death, it is important to conduct a postmortem.” - -The FR featured statements from the panchayatnama eyewitnesses that were recorded in March 2023, but these were all identical and did not refer to any external injuries. In an identical set of statements, Ram Avtar as well as five of his other relatives have been quoted as telling the police, “Upon receiving information about Bhalchandra’s death in a police encounter, I reached the district hospital, and identified the deceased. This panchayatnama was filled in front of me.” - -But why didn’t the panchayatnama make a note of all the injuries considering it’s the first step of documentation of an unnatural death? - -Speaking to Newslaundry, senior advocate at the Allahabad High Court Kamal Krishna Roy claimed, “It is a deliberate miss and is purposely done to prove that the encounter is genuine.” - -We reached out to Nayab Tehsildar Ramanand Mishra who had prepared the inquest report. On being asked about no mention of injuries other than gunshot wounds and a fracture, he replied, “Only those injuries which are zahira chot (evident as external wounds) are written about in a panchayatnama.” - -When this reporter referred to photos of Bhalchandra’s body that his family had shared showing swelling in private parts alleging torture, Mishra said, “I would be able to tell only when the file is in front of me.” - -On the colouring of wounds, Dr Ghyasuddin Khan wrote, “finding of blackening may be vision error of the autopsy surgeon.” And as far as the fracture in elbow was concerned the State Medico Legal Cell attributed it to “firearm injuries”. On being asked about the “vision in error”, Dr Anuj Singh, who conducted the postmortem, said, “Why would we lie about it? The court will make a note of the video (of the postmortem conducted) and then match our findings.” -Postmortem refers to blackening of wounds - -The same day of the inquest report, a panel of three doctors, comprising Dr Anuj Kumar Singh, Dr Sandeep Pal and Dr BS Dwivedi, conducted a postmortem at the district hospital in Chitrakoot. The cause of death was ascertained to be “shock and hemorrhage as a result of ante mortem injuries.” Ante mortem injuries refer to wounds the body has received before death. - -The postmortem report recorded a total of 15 injuries along with two fractured ribs and a fracture in right elbow. While there were seven wounds of entry, the report mentioned six wounds of exit, one lacerated wound and one contusion. Gunshot wounds are usually categorised as wounds of entry and exit respectively depending on the trajectory of the bullet. - -In the case of Bhalchandra, blackening was noticed around three wounds of entry – in the right axilla (or underarm), right scapula (shoulder) and left thumb. The panel found “no abnormality” in genital organs while the column stating the condition of nails was not filled. - -According to advocate Kamal Krishna Roy, “blackening occurs only when a bullet is fired from a close range”. - -“Possibility of blackening around a firearm injury arises only when a shot has been fired from close proximity,” claimed Akram Akhtar Choudhary, a human rights lawyer based in western UP who was part of a fact-finding team in 2018 that had investigated encounter killings in Kandhla, Kairana and Shamli. - -As soon as a shot is fired, the bullet, dislodged as a projectile from the barrel of a gun, triggers an act of combustion which is accompanied by production of smoke and heat. Blackening of a wound as a result of firearm injury signifies a short range shot since the “smoke particles are light and cannot travel afar”, hence, “blackening is caused by the smoke deposits.” - -In the widely popular book in legal circles titled, Medical Jurisprudence, authors RM Jhala and VB Raju dwell at length on the ballistic principles that can help decode the circumstances around any firearm injury. “As soon as the mass of flame, soot and the charge leave the barrel, they are counteracted by air resistance and gravity. Hence carbon particles cannot maintain their force and flight beyond certain distances viz., 18 inches or 45 cms,” states an excerpt from the book. - -Among the wounds of exits, one injury on the chest, as mentioned in the post mortem report, suggests a point blank range shot. This wound of exit which was 10cm x 5cm in dimensions was found on the left side of chest. “While most of the wounds of exit range between 2.5 cm to 3 cm, this particular wound of exit which is 10cm x 5cm in a vital part like chest is a point-blank shot since a bullet from a close range will have a higher velocity making a puncture of this size,” claimed advocate Prabal Pratap, a legal researcher and practicing lawyer at the Allahabad High Court. - -Reference to external wounds, other than firearm injuries, appear in the FR in the statements of doctors who conducted the postmortem. These statements, while admitting to the presence of other extraneous injuries, attribute the cause to the “encounter being carried on rough terrain like that of a jungle”. This tries to contradict the family’s claim regarding external injuries as tell-tale signs of torture. - -In identical statements recorded between April and June last year, Dr Sandeep Pal, Dr Anuj Singh and Dr BS Dwivedi told the IO of UP Police: “During a police encounter carried out in an area marked by rugged terrain comprising stones like that of a jungle, it’s quite possible for a person to sustain the kind of injuries as seen on this body.” - -When this reporter contacted Dr Anuj Singh and asked about the nature of injuries sustained in jungle-like terrain, he said, “I can’t say anything about it.” On being asked about his understanding, as a medical practitioner, of the blackening around a bullet injury, he said, “I will tell the court.” - -Dr BS Dwivedi could not be reached for a response. On being asked about allegations by the family regarding beating by lathi-danda and nails being removed, Dr Sandeep Pal said, “The postmortem was videographed, so if nails were removed or the person was beaten up then the legal team (of deceased) must have had access to the report (referring to video).” - -An encounter was carried out and the person who was holding the gun also died in the shootout so where is the chance of removing gunshot residue since the deceased didn’t get to wash his hands or resorted to using some chemical in order to get rid of traces. -Senior advocate Kamal Krishna Roy - -In response to the question why the column related to the “condition of nails” was not filled in the postmortem report, Dr Pal said, “We do not record negative findings and for verification you have the video.” - -Back in Padwaniya village, a sense of helplessness and anger is palpable in the voice of Ram Avtar. The family feels dignity was denied even in death and yet they continue to live in fear. “Around a hundred people from my own village saw the body that day,” said Ram Avtar. Some of these locals can also be spotted in the photos of Bhalchandra’s cremation where they stood with mouths and noses covered with a gamchha (towel). - -“We want the government to listen to our guhaar (request)”, a teary-eyed Ram Avtar said with folded hands. “This is sheer injustice.” - -His brother, Ram Lal, too, pitched in. “We were shocked to see the condition of the face.” - -Contradictions in FSL report - -The next scientific step in documenting the trail of an encounter is that of forensic examination of pieces of evidence from the field. But based on the views of experts, we found ostensible loopholes in the seven-page report submitted by Jhansi-based FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) as well. - -Bhalchandra's father Ram Avtar says swelling in genitals were noticeable. -Bhalchandra's father Ram Avtar says swelling in genitals were noticeable. - -In his report dated August 18, 2021, Deputy Director Bhoori Singh, while referring to the inspection of the encounter spot, said the approximate distance “between the point where the criminal collapsed during the encounter and STF team is 60 metres while that for SWAT team is 50 metres”. - -This tabulation of distance is questionable according to lawyers and experts this reporter spoke with. “Now the STF is saying that they were 50 metres away during the encounter, but then there is blackening around some gunshot injuries which means such a shot could not have been fired from such a long distance,” claimed advocate Rajendra Singh Yadav, who is representing Bhalchandra’s wife Nathuniya in this case. - -Senior advocate Kamal Krishna Roy also concurs with Rajendra Singh Yadav’s opinion. “Sixty metres is such a long distance. Blackening cannot happen if a shot is fired from 50 metres or 60 metres for that matter.” - -When Dr Anuj Singh, one of the doctors in the three-member post mortem panel, was asked about the contradictions arising due to the mention of blackening in the postmortem report and the estimation of a distance of 50 to 60 metres in the FSL report, with the police trying to discard the theory of close-range shootout, he said, “Whatever we saw has been mentioned in the report and this was accompanied by videography as well. So whatever questions are there, we will tell the court accordingly.” - -Dr Sandeep Pal also stood by his remarks in the postmortem report. “Blackening simply means a nearby shot.” - -Blackening isn’t the only contentious claim in the FSL report. - -Upon forensic examination of swabs from the hands of Bhalchandra, it was concluded that “remnants of firing like nitrite, lead and copper were not found in the swabs of left and right hand.” This observation necessitated another opinion since the very theory of Bhalchandra’s involvement in the shootout came under the scanner. - -For legal experts, such an observation related to absence of gunshot residue blows a hole in the police theory. Gunshot residue refers to the vaporised mass of particles left from the bullet after combustion with its traces left behind on the shooter’s hand. - -“An encounter was carried out and the person who was holding the gun also died in the shootout so where is the chance of removing gunshot residue since the deceased didn’t get to wash his hands or resorted to using some chemical in order to get rid of traces,” asked senior advocate Kamal Krishna Roy. - -Lalchandra Yadav next to his bike on which he had gone to drop Bhalchandra for a court hearing. -Lalchandra Yadav next to his bike on which he had gone to drop Bhalchandra for a court hearing. - -Second opinion by SMLC - -On November 3, 2022, IO Bhaskar Verma wrote a letter to the additional director of the SMLC. “While the police personnel maintain that owing to an emergency situation, in a close encounter (nazdeeki muthbhed), shots were fired in different directions, there are some issues which still need to be clarified,” stated the letter. - -Four questions were posed about the nature of injuries and analysis done by the Forensic Science Laboratory. - -Question no. 1: A .315 bore rifle had been recovered from Bhalchandra but the FSL report stated that firing-related remains were not detected in the swabs of hands of the deceased. Under what circumstances is this possible? - -Question no. 2: As mentioned in the FSL report, while blackening was noticed around three wounds of entry, the exact area of blackening had not been specified. Ten holes labelled H1 to H10 were also found on the shirt of the deceased with remains of firing such as lead and copper. Since Bhalchandra was wearing a shirt, is it possible for blackening to appear around the wounds of entry? - -Question no. 3: The postmortem report has mentioned fracture in the fourth and fifth rib along with damage to both the lungs, heart and liver. Is it possible to sustain these kinds of injuries in an encounter? - -Question no. 4: The doctor who prepared the postmortem report has also mentioned a fracture in the right elbow. Is it possible for someone to sustain such an injury during an encounter in a jungle surrounded by bushes? - -The response from Dr Ghyasuddin Khan, Additional Director at the State Medico Legal Cell, defended the police version. - -Regarding the absence of any firing-related remains in the swabs from hands, the medico legal cell opined that “it is not necessary for GSR (gunshot residue) to be present in the hand of the person”. Despite the absence of GSR, the cell concluded that the “firearm was self-discharged”, which means the gun was fired by the deceased. - -On the colouring of wounds, Dr Ghyasuddin Khan wrote, “finding of blackening may be vision error of the autopsy surgeon.” And as far as the fracture in elbow was concerned the State Medico Legal Cell attributed it to “firearm injuries”. - -On being asked about the “vision in error”, Dr Anuj Singh, who conducted the postmortem, said, “Why would we lie about it? The court will make a note of the video (of the postmortem conducted) and then match our findings.” - -Does blackening around a wound of entry happen even with a shirt on? “Yes, blackening will still happen,” said Dr Sandeep Pal. - -Criticising the police move to reach out to the SMLC for its opinion, advocate Kamal Krishna Roy alleged, “Second opinion is manipulation by the encounter team just so that they can save their jobs.” Countering Dr Ghyasuddin’s view on the gun being discharged despite the absence of GSR, Roy alleged, “If someone has used a firearm, then it’s sure that the person did load the gun with a bullet as well, so presence of gunshot residue is but natural from forensic exam point of view.” - -Meanwhile, advocate Akram Akhtar Choudhary, who has appeared in court in several encounter cases, expressed concern about the nature of injuries to the lung, heart and liver. “If an encounter had been carried out in an area with dense population and a person had jumped from a certain height then a fracture is understandable. Else, a ruptured heart and liver suggests torture since gunshot injury is not present near these vital parts…If there is no injury due to firearm in private parts then swelling suggests torture.” - -The police say they fired in self-defence. -Sub-inspector Amit Kumar Tiwari’s statement listed out the chain of events. “As soon as we proceeded inside the jungle, we saw five to six men standing with weapons in their hands. Both sub-inspector Shravan Kumar Singh (from SWAT team) and myself raised our voices and asked those men to surrender,” said Tiwari, as quoted in his statement. “But those men began firing. We, too, fired shots in our self-defence.” An alert regarding the ongoing shoot-out was sent to the control room at 4.30 pm. “As soon as one of them got shot and fell on the ground, firing came to a halt,” Tiwari told the SDM. “Since the firing had stopped, we proceeded forward. It was then that the criminal who had fallen on the ground,with an intention to kill us, picked up a rifle in order to fire at us...we then fired back in self-defence.” -The police version - -On June 15, 2021, a magisterial inquiry report submitted by Chitrakoot’s SDM Ram Prakash had presented the official version. Such an inquiry is required to be completed within three months of a police encounter, with the report sent to the DGP. - -The report is a mandatory requirement under the 2010 guidelines formulated by the NHRC and reiterated again in the 2014 Supreme Court judgment in PUCL versus State of Maharashtra in order to keep a check on police excesses. - -As per the statement by sub-inspector Amit Kumar Tiwari from STF Lucknow unit, based on inputs received from a mukhbir (informer), both the STF as well as local police teams had reached the Mado Bandha jungle at 3.45 pm. An input was received about a potential meeting between history-sheeter and dacoit Gauri Yadav and some persons ahead of panchayat elections due later in April that year. - -Tiwari’s statement further listed out the chain of events. “As soon as we proceeded inside the jungle, we saw five to six men standing with weapons in their hands. Both sub-inspector Shravan Kumar Singh (from SWAT team) and myself raised our voices and asked those men to surrender,” said Tiwari, as quoted in his statement. “But those men began firing. We, too, fired shots in our self-defence.” An alert regarding the ongoing shoot-out was sent to the control room at 4.30 pm. - -“As soon as one of them got shot and fell on the ground, firing came to a halt,” Tiwari told the SDM. “Since the firing had stopped, we proceeded forward. It was then that the criminal who had fallen on the ground,with an intention to kill us, picked up a rifle in order to fire at us.” - -“We then fired back in self-defence,” said sub-inspector Amit Kumar Tiwari. - -While taking cognisance of the family’s version with respect to abduction and signs of beating seen on body, SDM Ram Prakash labelled the encounter as “genuine”. Lalchandra had got the registration number of the vehicle, in which STF team had picked them up, wrong and the family could not produce an independent witness who had seen them getting abducted, the report said. - -In statements recorded by the Chitrakoot police from August 3, 2023 to September 25, 2023, 11 out of 14 policemen named in the FIR reiterated a similar narrative presented during the magisterial inquiry. - -These 11 policemen unanimously told the IO, “We have not done anything illegal. We were following the rules as part of the drive related to eradication of bandits and acted on the basis of trustworthy information from mukhbir.” In response to follow-up questions – 1) Did your team step out of Chitrakoot on March 31, 2021 and, 2) Did you pick up Bhalchandra and his brother Lalchandra from somewhere – they all said, “No, these are baseless allegations.” - -Of the three others, SP Ankit Mittal denied any crime and said he had been informed of the encounter at “4.33 or 4.34 pm” and “then around 5 or 5.15 pm, the district control room informed me that a criminal had been seriously injured”. Inspector Deendayal Singh said he had reached the spot after the encounter had ended, and constable Ramkesh Kushwahan said he saw “that criminal lying on the ground” when he reached the spot. - -In order to bolster their claim regarding the official trip from Chitrakoot city to Chitrakoot rural, the STF submitted a copy of the running register of the vehicle used during the encounter. This document was submitted on September 14, 2023. The local police unit which had aided the STF in this operation, too, submitted a copy of the running register of their respective vehicle for the month of March 2021. - -A running register is used to note daily distance travelled by a police vehicle marking the start and stop point, purpose behind trip and distance travelled. - -A page from the register submitted by STF Lucknow noted a distance of 161 km from Chitrakoot city to Chitrakoot dehat on March 31, 2021. Similarly a page from the register submitted by local police dated March 31, 2021 stated the purpose as “investigation D13 gang/ encounter” with a stop point mentioned as Mado Bandha. D13 was the nomenclature used by police for the gang led by dacoit Gauri Yadav. - -Countering the police theory, Lalchandra showed us the order sheet dated March 31, 2021 from the Satna district court with Bhalchandra’s signature. An order sheet is a legal document, maintained by a peshkar (court clerk), that tracks developments in a case based on every single hearing. - -“My brother had been named during the course of investigation in a theft-related case. He had got bail and the first hearing in this matter was on March 31, 2021,” said Lalchandra. It is an hour-long drive from Padwaniya village to Satna district court with a distance of 55 km. “On April 1, he was supposed to appear again in court so we thought of travelling on both days. Anyways, it was the month of Chaitra (or harvest season) so there was no point in staying in Satna.” - -While the police point to an input about a possible meeting with a dacoity suspect, Lalchandra says he had left home with his brother for a court hearing on a bike on March 31, 2021. -Lalchandra along with Bhalchandra had started off for Satna at 10 am that day and after attending the hearing were on their way back at around 2.30 pm. “We had crossed Satna and Kothi town and were passing through Chithara area which is marked by jungles when a white Scorpio came from behind,” said Lalchandra. - -Between July 2022 to May 2024, since the FIR was filed, three IOs led the investigation in this case. These included DSP Bhaskar Verma, who got transferred to Ghaziabad, followed by DSP Shiv Prakash Sonkar, who after retirement handed over the investigation to current DSP of Chitrakoot, Jai Karan Singh. Bhaskar Verma and Shiv Prakash Sonkar could not be contacted for a response. - -When this reporter reached out to DSP Jai Karan Singh, he said, “We have no information regarding the protest petition. If the investigation was ongoing, I could have responded to questions but now that the report has been submitted, it is a matter for the court.” On being asked specifically about the postmortem report, FSL report and the SMLC opinion that were part of the investigation, Singh replied, “The matter is subjudice now so I can’t speak about it.” - -Cover-up by eyewitnesses - -UP police have included statements by eight independent eyewitnesses who were presumably present around the spot where the encounter took place. None of them witnessed anything related to the encounter but claimed to have heard gunshots, confirming that a “genuine” encounter indeed took place in their vicinity. - -In statements that are exact replicas of each other there is mention of a cattle grazer who reportedly informed the eyewitnesses that gunshots they heard were due to an “encounter between police and dacoit Gauri Yadav”. We don’t get to know in the entire FR who this grazer is. - -For instance, in a statement dated February 12, 2023, eyewitness Kamla Yadav, who owns a piece of land near the Mado Bandha jungle, told the police, “I don’t remember the date since this happened two years ago. At around 4 pm or 5 pm, while I was talking to someone, we heard gunshots from the side of the jungle. Soon, we saw a charwah who came running from that side.” - -“What happened, we asked him. He informed us that an encounter just took place between police and dacoit Gauri Yadav. Thereafter we returned to our home,” concludes the statement. - -Newslaundry spoke to two eyewitnesses – Munni Lal and Sukhbhawan – residents of Bilhari village in Chitrakoot whose statements have been quoted in the FR. “I was not present at the site of the encounter but did see police going towards the Mado Bandha jungle.” - -“We heard sounds of bullets, we didn’t see anything.” - -In his statement, Sukhbhawan told the IO that he had “heard policemen asking criminals to surrender and those men, in return, hurling abuses at the police.” When asked about the day of the encounter and whether he heard any exchange between the police and others, Sukhbhawan said, “I did not hear anything except for the sound of bullets.“ - -A local journalist, three passersby and an RTO (Regional Transport Office) personnel are among other eyewitnesses whose statements have been included to counter the allegations regarding abduction of Bhalchandra and his brother Lalchandra. - -Jitendra Mohan Shukla, correspondent with Hindi newspaper, Aaj Kanpur, in his statement recorded on June 3, 2023 told the police, “On March 31, 2021, I along with my brother had gone to Kothi in Satna district and were on our way to home (Chitrakoot) between 2 to 2.30 pm. Neither did we see a Scorpio vehicle nor did we spot any person with hands tied behind being driven on a motorcycle.” Kothi town was the site from where, as per Lalchandra, they had been overtaken by the STF men who came in a white Scorpio. - -Shukla further talked about how during the course of his own reportage he had not found anything suspicious in connection with the encounter. “As soon as news related to the police encounter went viral, I had gone to the spot and spoke to locals and nearby villages, and had found the incident to be true. Only after I was sure about the encounter did my story get published in the newspaper,” read his statement. - -According to his claims on social media, Shukla was the BJP’s former Chitrakoot district treasurer, and on Twitter, he identifies himself as BJP Kisan Morcha district vice-president. - -But did his story really get published? - -“I never went to the site of the encounter or spoke to locals there. Our district correspondent was chasing this news so a story was published based on police’ version,” Shukla told this reporter while speaking on phone. Clarifying that journalism is part of social service for him and that he’s a lawyer as well, Shukla, while lauding the efforts of local police, said: “This place which was tapasthali (place of worship) for Ram had been a haven for bandits since the last 40-50 years stalling all the development work. The Yogi Adityanath government has accomplished the feat of making Chitrakoot dacoit-free.” - -Another passerby, Aijaz Hasan Siddiqui along with RTO official Raj Rishi Tiwari who was stationed at a checkpost on the same route, reiterated that “they had neither seen a white Scorpio nor a man with hands tied on a motorcycle.” There weren’t any CCTV cameras around, Tiwari told the police. - -Like Jitendra Mohan Shukla, the statement by Aijaz Hasan Siddiqui also reiterated that he himself had met locals near the encounter site and ascertained that such an incident indeed took place. When we asked Siddiqui about it, he denied saying any such thing in his statement. “I didn’t speak to locals or saw anything for that matter.” - -From March 20, 2017 to September 5, 2024, UP has reportedly recorded 12,964 police encounters, with 207 individuals gunned down during this period. Of these 207, 52 were killed in UPSTF operations. Bhalchandra was casualty number 25 during this period. -‘Encounter raj’ in UP? - -In September 2024, after a looting case suspect, Mangesh Yadav, was killed by UPSTF in Sultanpur, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that encounters were targeting members of a particular caste and termed the UPSTF as “Special Thakur Force.” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also Thakur by caste. On the other hand, Yadavs, who belong to the Other Backward Class, have been among the traditional supporter base of the Samajwadi Party. - -Soon after coming to power, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, in an interview to India TV had said, “Agar apradh karenge toh thok diye jayenge (if one commits a crime, he will be knocked down).” - -Sulkhan Singh, who served as the UP DGP from April to September 2017 under Yogi Adityanath’s first term as chief minister, earlier took to Facebook to lament the fate of policemen facing trial in encounter cases. “If ministers and senior police officers will issue statements like thok do (kill them), a certain perception is inevitable. In order to maintain law and order, you can’t capture someone and then murder him,” he told Newslaundry. - -From March 20, 2017 to September 5, 2024, UP has reportedly recorded 12,964 police encounters, with 207 individuals gunned down during this period. Of these 207, 52 were killed in UPSTF operations. Bhalchandra was casualty number 25 during this period. - -Meanwhile, allegations of caste-based encounters have rubbed off on Bhalchandra’s family as well. His relatives wonder if a meeting with Akhilesh Yadav can help in highlighting Bhalchandra Yadav’s case. - -Bhalchandra’s criminal background - -Chitrakoot is known for its lush green jungles along with rocky terrain, typical in the arid bundelkhand region. Popularly referred to as beehad (rugged terrain), the area was known to be a safe haven for dacoits like Dadua alias Shiv Kumar Patel – the Veerappan of the north – killed in a 2007 encounter by UPSTF. - -On April 1, 2021, a day after the encounter, Lalchandra was named in an FIR registered at Chitrakoot’s Markundi police station. He was charged under the Arms Act with the police claiming recovery of a .315 bore rifle along with four bullets. He is currently out on bail after spending six months behind bars. -The district court in Chitrakoot, on the very outset, looks like any decrepit physical structure except that it has designated courts dealing with cases filed under the DAA (or Uttar Pradesh Dacoity Affected Areas Act, 1983). - -While some lawyers have a place to sit underneath a tin shade, advocate Rajendra Singh Yadav’s chamber comprises a chair and wooden bench next to an electric pole. In November 2021, he wrote a letter to the Bar Council of India, NHRC, UP DGP and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath: “The STF personnel and policemen named as accused often come to the court premises and talk about either slapping a false case or getting me killed…If any untoward incident happens with me then STF and district level police should be held responsible.” - -Rajendra Singh Yadav maintained that Bhalchandra was “not a history sheeter”. “He was made an accused in one case in MP and another case in UP, that’s the only criminal history he had.” - -The annexure related to his criminal history mentions three cases in which Bhalchandra was made an accused. The first FIR was filed in 2020 at Majhgawan police station in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh. The second FIR was registered against Bhalchandra at Chitrakoot’s Bahilpurwa police station in 2021. The third FIR, filed after the encounter, was also registered at the same police station in Chitrakoot. - -All these FIRs were filed under the DAA Act along with IPC provisions related to extortion; attacking, injuring or preventing a public servant from performing their duties; voluntarily causing hurt to another person; rioting while armed with a deadly weapon; intentional insult with intent of provoking breach of peace and the Arms Act. - -In the first two FIRs, Bhalchandra is a co-accused along with history sheeter and dacoit Gauri Yadav who had 47 cases filed against him since 2004. Seven months after Bhalchandra’s encounter, in October 2021, Gauri, too, was killed by the UPSTF. The face-off was similar to Bhalchandra’s. - -According to a report in the Times of India, the encounter between Gauri Yadav, his men and the STF was carried out “near the Mado Bandha jungle” in Chitrakoot. Based on inputs, the STF team had reached the spot where they saw armed men who were asked to surrender. Gauri Yadav “died in the exchange of fire that ensued”. - -Bhalchandra’s uncle Ram Lal, while denying his nephew’s link with Gauri Yadav, claimed, “He (Gauri) was a relative, that’s all.” - -“They could’ve put him in jail and slapped more charges, how can they kill my brother?” asked Lalchandra. Their elder brother Phoolchandra works as a teacher at a government school. - -On April 1, 2021, a day after the encounter, Lalchandra was named in an FIR registered at Chitrakoot’s Markundi police station. He was charged under the Arms Act with the police claiming recovery of a .315 bore rifle along with four bullets. He is currently out on bail after spending six months behind bars. - -The 2021 complaint filed by the police stated, “Lalchandra was arrested at around 5 am as he was trying to abscond following the encounter with members of the Gauri gang.” - -“When rakshak (protector) turns into bhakshak (predator) then who would turn to the police,” asked Lalchandra, standing next to the motorcycle from which his elder brother was allegedly abducted. “We don’t trust the police anymore.” - -In 2019, an audio clip went viral in parts of Haryana, the state known for being the powerhouse of Indian sports. It was a fragment of a conversation between a man and a woman. She’s telling him about a coach named Vinod Loyal. - -At the time, Loyal had risen to the status of a local hero for many because his proteges had turned Sadalpur into a hub for football talent. Six young women footballers from the village had played for India internationally and more than 10 had made the cut for the national team. All of them had been coached by Loyal at some point. Loyal’s wife Suman said, “My husband has done such a noble job that girls who could never manage to sit on a camel are now flying in airplanes.” - -In the audio clip that surfaced, the woman alleges Loyal had sexually harassed her and others coaching under him. She lists names of his victims. All of them were training with Loyal to become footballers. - -Coaches and other figures of authority abusing their power by molesting and even raping the girls entrusted in their care is the dark side of Haryana producing some of the best women athletes in the world. Between 2019 and 2023, the state saw female athletes file 24 cases of sexual harassment. Of these, 14 were under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. - -Newslaundry travelled to Hisar, Bhiwani, Jind and Gurugram districts to investigate the allegations and was able to collect information about 13 of the 24 cases. During our reporting, we learnt that most of the cases were dismissed either during the police investigation or when they reached the court, usually because the survivor didn’t testify. - - -‘I can’t trust anyone now’ - -Last year, on July 31, a first information report (FIR) was registered at the women’s police station in Jind under the POCSO Act and sections 363 (kidnapping), 366A (procurement of minor girls), 342 (wrongful confinement), 376D (gang rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). - -According to the complaint filed by the mother of the survivor, 14-year-old Rekha is a throwball player and was enrolled at a sports academy in Jind, run by Ranjeet, who is a family friend. Approximately a month after joining the academy, on the evening of July 29, Ranjeet called Rekha’s home and said he would pick her up the next morning to go with him to Narwana for a game. On July 30, Ranjeet picked Rekha up and took her to a furniture shop in Narwana where he and a friend raped her while the shop owner stood guard outside. Ranjeet threatened to kill Rekha and her family if she told anyone what he’d done to her. - -However, Rekha did tell her family. “When I returned from the field after four in the evening, my wife and mother took me to the terrace and told me everything. At that time, I fainted and fell. After regaining consciousness, I gathered my family and told everyone about it. We then went to the police and lodged a complaint,” said Randhir Singh, Rekha’s father, who had been a kabaddi player when he was young and had hoped Rekha and her sister would fulfil his dreams of becoming a professional athlete. “After that incident, my daughters stopped playing,” he said. “To be honest, I can’t trust anyone now. Ranjeet was from my village, my daughters were like his nieces. If he did this, whom can we trust?” - -In April 2024, approximately a year after the protesting Indian wrestlers made headlines with their demand that the former chief of Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Singh be arrested for alleged sexual abuse, the court found Ranjeet guilty under the POCSO Act. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of Rs 10,000. The other two accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence. Randhir told Newslaundry he was determined to “fight for my daughter till my last breath”, but he was disillusioned by the sporting scene. “Look at Vinesh Phogat or Sakshi Malik, how long they ran from pillar to post and cried,” he said. “Did anyone listen to them? If such things start happening at the lower level, who knows what will happen next? So I have kept my daughters away from sports.” - -Although Haryana has a rich legacy of producing gifted sportspersons practically since the state’s inception, it sowed the roots of a successful sports policy in 2000 when the then chief minister Om Prakash Chautala announced that any Haryanvi athlete who won at the Sydney Olympics would be given a cash prize by his government. There were no medals won by athletes from Haryana that year, but the incentive acted as a potent inspiration. - -This year, 20 percent of India’s 117-athlete contingent for the Olympics came from Haryana. -By 2016-2017, sports infrastructure had developed by leaps and bounds in the state. In Rohtak district alone, there were 14 stadiums where children could practice everything from wrestling to volleyball. The impact was felt internationally. India won 38 gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, of which 15 were won by athletes from Haryana. Vijender Singh, from Kaluwas village in Bhiwani district, won the bronze medal for boxing at the 2008 Olympics. Yogeshwar Dutt and Sakshi Malik won bronze medals for wrestling at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics respectively. - -According to data from the Sports Authority of India, 20 percent of India’s 117-athlete contingent for the Olympics this year came from Haryana. The state awards a maximum of Rs 6 crore to gold medal winners, Rs 4 crore to silver medal winners and Rs 2.5 crore for bronze medallists. Medallists also get government jobs, often with the state police. Haryana is the only state in India that offers equivalent cash awards to para-athletes (although there have been complaints of delayed payments). - -For girls and women to benefit from Haryana’s sports policy required coaches like Ishwar Singh Dahiya, who was one of the first to start training girls for wrestling at Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium in Rohtak. His list of illustrious students include Sakshi Malik and Suman Kundu, who won a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Speaking to Mint in 2016, Kundu said that once she started training as a wrestler, she only returned to her village when her professional success was undeniable. “Do you know I did not go to my village till 2010 when I won the bronze in the Commonwealth Games? And that too, because they invited me. Otherwise, the backlash against my family had been so intense for letting a girl get into wrestling,” she said. - -Even though sports offer opportunities for social mobility and job security, there appears to be an underlying anxiety that comes from these girls becoming independent women, both financially and temperamentally, as they travel beyond the boundaries of the village and its conventions for their tournaments. - -‘How can I compromise in such a situation?’ - -Haryana is famous for its entrenched sexism and conservatism, sharply reflected in the fact that the state has historically had one of the lowest sex ratios in the country. (This trend changed between 2015 and 2019, when the sex ratio peaked at 923 females per 1,000 males. It has since started to dip again, with six districts reporting more than a 20-point drop between 2022 and 2023.) - -One of the reasons conservative practices persist is that families believe these keep the girls safe. To that end, families often choose as coach someone who is known or related to them. “The coach’s wife is my dharma sister. We know each other,” said Tejveer Singh, whose daughter Naina is an international-level women's football player from a village in Hisar. - -Naina was one of the girls mentioned in the viral audio clip about coach Vinod Loyal. On July 3, 2019, a case was filed against Loyal under sections 354 (assaulting a woman), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) of the IPC and the POCSO Act, based on Naina’s complaint. The FIR said Naina had detailed incidents that took place in 2015 and 2017, when Naina had gone to Odisha for a tournament with Loyal. The following day, Naina’s father was named as an accused by a young woman who alleged Tejveer had taken her to Rajasthan and misbehaved with her. - -Both cases were dismissed on August 20 on the grounds that the original complaints were not credible. Naina’s lawyer tried to reopen the case, but Hisar district court said too much time had lapsed since the alleged incidents. - -The audio clip case - -In case of the FIR filed regarding the audio clip that went viral, five young men were charged with stalking and defamation. One of the accused, Mahender, admitted to Newslaundry that he had sent the clip to a friend, who is also among the accused. He said the conversation was one he’d been having with his friend, Neha*. - -Mahender was charged with conspiracy and went to jail, but the case was eventually settled. -“When the matter went to the police, Tanu came forward. She is from my village and was an international level football player. She told the police, ‘I was talking in this audio pretending to be Neha’,” said Mahender, who is a national-level footballer and currently works as a daily wage labourer to make a living. He’s certain that he had not confused Neha and Tanu. Mahender was charged with conspiracy and went to jail, but the case was eventually settled. Neha’s family stopped her from playing football and she got married soon after. - -When Newslaundry tried to contact her family and the panchayat about this case, neither was willing to talk. - -Four-five girls gave statements against the coach. Nothing happened to the coach, rather we left Haryana. -Chahat, an athlete at a university in Punjab. - -Naina’s sister Chahat told Newslaundry that Loyal was a serial offender. “When we would go somewhere to play, he would talk to the girls inappropriately. Talk about sex. Touch them inappropriately. We girls know the touch. After enduring quite a lot, we told our parents. Later, four-five girls gave statements against the coach. Nothing happened to the coach, rather we left Haryana,” said Chahat, who is also an athlete and currently playing for a university in Punjab. - -The role played by the police while investigating complaints has been a cause for concern in a number of cases. Allegations of corruption and taking bribes are rampant. Sat Singh, a journalist who has worked in Haryana for the past two decades, said, “You will see many cases where the police claim the charges could not be proven, leading to the case being closed. The police's job is to collect evidence, which they do not do honestly. This weakens the case. If the police collect evidence properly, the accused cannot escape, but the police benefit from not doing so.” - -Savitri Singh, a resident of a village in Gurugram, believes that if the police had taken timely action, her daughter Sarita would be alive today. Sarita was a taekwondo player and boxer who won many medals and had travelled internationally for tournaments. She was shot dead at the gate of her home on November 12, 2019 by Somveer Jat, a wrestler who had stalked Sarita for months before this tragic incident. - -Savitri told Newslaundry, “Sarita used to play in Gurugram. Somveer had come to stay with his maternal uncle. He also used to come to the ground. Since then, he started following Sarita. He even asked for her number once or twice, which Sarita refused.” Somveer got hold of Sarita’s phone number and started harassing her. Sarita eventually told her mother and sister about Somveer and the family tried to explain to him that Sarita was not interested in a relationship. “He was not ready to understand,” said Savitri of Somveer. - -To avoid Somveer, Sarita left Gurugram and got a job in Jaipur, at Maharani Victoria School. Somveer allegedly followed her there and would stand outside the school for three months. Savitri said Sarita filed a complaint against Somveer with Jaipur Police and then shifted her base to Nagpur, where she began studying to become a coach. Somveer continued to stalk her. - -No arrests were made despite three FIRs naming Somveer. -Between June and November 2019, four complaints were lodged by Sarita’s family and FIRs were filed, naming Somveer as a serious threat. - -The first FIR, dated June 6, 2019, details how Somveer came with friends to Sarita’s family and demanded Sarita be married to him. Sarita’s father Jaipal Singh is quoted pleading to the police. “Please take legal action against Somveer and protect my family,” he said. The second FIR was filed less than a month later on July 11, 2019. This time Jaipal told the police that Somveer had come home and assaulted his wife and son. Somveer also warned them against informing the police. Once again, Jaipal pleaded to the police to take action against Somveer. On August 20, 2019, a third FIR was filed after Somveer attacked Jaipal. “Please take action on this because we are afraid of some big mishap. Life is in danger,” said Jaipal, as per the FIR. - -However, no arrests were made despite three FIRs naming Somveer. In September 2019, Jaipal passed away. Two months later, Savitri went to the police station and a fourth FIR was registered against Somveer. This time it was for Sarita’s murder. - -On the night that she was killed, Somveer showed up without warning and demanded to speak to Sarita. Sarita was standing at the gate and Savitri tried to come in between her daughter and Somveer. He pushed her, she fell and Somveer shot Sarita. A neighbour, Mahavir Jat, recalled Somveer was “a rowdy type”. “By the time we reached, he had fled. Sarita was lying at the gate, soaked in blood,” he said. - -It took Gurugram Police less than a year to arrest Somveer. - -Savitri is determined to pursue the case against him, despite people from nearby villages urging her to arrive at a compromise with Sarita’s killer. "My daughter is gone. We lived in fear for many years. How can I compromise in such a situation?” said Savitri. She remains convinced that Sarita’s life could have been saved if the police had acted sooner on the FIRs filed after her husband’s complaints. “The police became active after the murder. If they had gone earlier and put him in jail, this situation would not have happened.” - -Inspector Yogesh Kataria, who is currently posted at the police station handling Sarita’s case, said, “This is a very old case. The investigating officer has also been transferred from here. So what can I tell you? I can only say that whatever cases come before me, we take immediate action.” - -‘It’s an old matter. Why dig into it?’ - -The toll these cases take on the complainant can be debilitating. Of the two cases filed in Bhiwani district in 2020 and 2023, the latter was closed because the allegation couldn’t be verified during the police investigation, which can be a harrowing experience for the survivor since she has to keep repeating her testimony (and thus relive the trauma). There is also the social stigma that comes from being the subject of such an enquiry. In the 2020 case, the witness turned hostile – a phrase that places the onus of responsibility on the survivor and usually camouflages the challenges and trauma faced by her. - -According to the FIR, a minor volleyball player was taken to Ujjain for a tournament. There, coach Ashok fed her jalebi which rendered her unconscious. When she came to senses, she realised she’d been stripped of her clothes and the coach’s hand was on her chest. At a window, she noticed some boys she knew and they made videos of her in that state. Later these boys allegedly raped the girl on different occasions with the threat of circulating the video. At one point, the girl felt driven to attempt suicide. Ultimately, the case was closed because neither the survivor nor her father, who is listed as a witness, wanted to testify. - -In cases of sexual crimes, it is standard practice in Haryana for unofficial “panchayats” to get involved. -When Newslaundry tried to contact the victim and her immediate family, we were unsuccessful. Ultimately, we were able to reach a relative of hers who said the accused were actually from the same family as the survivor. The relative confirmed that a settlement had been reached between those involved. - -Especially in cases of sexual crimes, it is standard practice in Haryana for unofficial “panchayats” – a loose gathering of villagers without elected members of the local village council – to get involved. In contrast to the due processes of the police and the courts, the intervention of the “panchayat” tends to be swift, which makes it preferable to many. - -Randhir Singh had said that in the matter of his daughter Rekha, the village and “panchayat” were on his side. But Gudiya and her father Virendra Singh’s experience is the opposite. The Dalit family is from a village in Jind district and Gudiya is the youngest of four daughters. In 2021, when Gudiya was 14 years old and studying in Class VIII, she began training for wrestling with Sonu, who coached students at the playground in Gudiya’s school. A few days after she’d started training with Sonu, he allegedly took Gudiya into a room and raped her. - -Gudiya's parents at their home. -Gudiya's parents at their home. - -The 14-year-old told her family what had happened the same day and Virendra lost no time approaching the police. After a medical and police investigation, another accused named Kaalu was added to the case. Kaalu lived with his maternal uncle in Gudiya’s village. He was serving a sentence in jail after being embroiled in a murder case, but Kaalu was released during the Covid-19 pandemic, following an order by the Supreme Court to tackle overcrowding in prisons. - -Virendra said the police acted swiftly once he’d filed his complaint, and both the accused were arrested and sent to jail. - -While the case was being processed, locals got involved. “The elders of the village gathered and said that they (the accused) have been in jail for so many days. They have got the punishment for the mistake they committed,” recalled Virendra, adding that he felt pressured to withdraw the case. - -He was a witness in the case along with Gudiya’s teacher Yamuna Devi, whose coaching class Gudiya had gone to in the evening, after being sexually assaulted. “I was also tired of going to court, my daughter was also not able to come out of that trauma. Seeing these circumstances, I withdrew the case. I did not take money from any of the accused,” said Virendra. - -Many such settlements have been made in this village itself. This is not the first case. -Avtar Singh, part of the unofficial panchayat that settled Gudiya's case. - -Newslaundry was able to talk to Avtar Singh, who was part of the “panchayat” that “settled” Gudiya’s case. “It’s an old matter. Why dig into it?” he said. “A settlement has been reached. Many such settlements have been made in this village itself. This is not the first case.” - -Besides the “settlement”, the district court acquitted the accused in May 2023 due to the witnesses and victim turning hostile in the case. Gudiya’s case is officially closed. On paper, the matter ends there, but for Gudiya, the ramifications are greater. She scored 91 percent in Class X and won a cash prize of Rs 8,000 from the state government of Haryana. Her mother Suman said they’re hoping she will be married soon. “Right now she is 17 years and a few months old. We have started looking for a boy. The day she turns 18, we will get her married,” she told Newslaundry. “If it is in her destiny, her in-laws will educate her.” - -Virendra also told us that he knows of the “panchayat” having settled other cases. - -These gatherings usually favour the man who is accused and champion settlements in which the girl and her family will withdraw the case. - -Hisar district, which registered the most number of cases between 2019 and 2023, also recorded the highest number of cases being closed through this manner. Of the six cases registered in Hisar, four have been closed and two are still doing the rounds of courts. Examining the documents revealed that cases that have been closed are often explained away as personal enmity. - -In March this year, the Punjab-Haryana High Court issued an order stating that an FIR will be filed against the survivor if she retracts her rape accusation. This order was related to a rape case that ended with a compromise. - -With the punishment being imposed on the survivor rather than those who put pressure on the complainant and her family to compromise, it is likely that this order will only serve to deter girls and women from coming forward with their testimonies. - -‘They are often silenced’ - -A lawyer working in Hisar court explained, “More than half of the cases are settled in the village panchayat before they even reach the police. Some of the cases that do reach the police are settled through transactions. When cases reach the court, the village council or elders often convince the parties to withdraw the case. Sometimes, the victim's family is given money.” - -The influence extended by the panchayat is evident from the case of Ramphal, who coaches athletes in Hisar. - -An FIR was filed on August 10, 2023. Initially, this case was registered as an assault. Akash, Vinay and two other boys beat up Ramphal and the coach reported the incident to the police. During the investigation, three girls – one of them is Ramphal’s daughter – came forward and recorded their statements, following which charges of sexual harassment, stalking and the POCSO Act were filed against the four accused. The three girls received counselling and after this, their statements were found to be false. The additional charges were dropped and all the accused were acquitted after the witnesses testified. - -“The villagers sat together and explained that the boys who attacked me in the dark of the night were some other people. They (Akash and others) used to come to the place where I used to train girls, so one day I scolded them. It was only after that that I was attacked. So I filed a case against them. After the explanation from the villagers, I withdrew the case,” Ramphal told Newslaundry. - -The allegations made by a female complainant were also found to be false in an FIR filed in July 2021, in which a shooter made accusations against a football coach named Anil. She had submitted that in April 2020, Anil had molested her and threatened her with casteist slurs. He’d approached her on the pretext of treating a pain she was feeling as a result of the recoil from the gun during shooting. - -The closure report says the records revealed a financial transaction between the survivor’s brother Rajeev and the named accused. -Initially Anil was charged under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 294 (obscene acts in public places) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC along with the POCSO Act and the Scheduled Castes/ Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. A senior officer of the women's police station told Newslaundry that the case was investigated by DCP Bharti Dabas. The allegations made by the complainant were found to be false in the investigation, due to which the case was closed on August 10, 2021. - -The closure report says the records revealed a financial transaction between the survivor’s brother Rajeev and the named accused. - -Rajeev, who works at a gas agency, said to Newslaundry, “The police took money and closed the case. We hired a lawyer and got it reopened.” - -Santosh Dahiya, a professor and social worker at Kurukshetra University, said, “Such cases are often suppressed within the family. Very few families agree to pursue them. Most rape cases in rural areas involve victims who are economically poor or belong to lower castes. They are often silenced either through coercion or monetary inducement.” - -Haryana is a state riddled with ironies when it comes to women’s rights. While on one hand, athletes such as Manu Bhaker and Vinesh Phogat, who performed brilliantly in the Olympics this year, have brought laurels to the country and their state across the world, the traditional social shackles against women remain firmly in place. - -In 2022, the number of registered rape cases was 1,968, which shows a sharp increase since 2015 when 1,070 cases were registered. Cases with minor victims and survivors rose to 1,358 in 2022. In 2015, 224 cases were filed under the POCSO Act. - -Some of the increase in numbers may be attributed to more women coming forward with their experiences, but as our investigation showed, to come forward with accusations of rape and sexual assault can in itself be traumatic for the survivor and her family. With witnesses turning hostile, testimonies being declared false and cases being ‘settled’ outside the court, there is little justice and even less satisfaction for those who speak up against their abusers in Haryana. - -The names of survivors, their family members and the accused in POCSO cases have been changed to protect identities.