Bhanwari Devi murder trial begins today

Jodhpur: The trial in the sensational Bhanwari Devi murder case will begin at a special court in Jodhpur today. Among the 13 people accused in this case are sacked Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna and Congress MLA Malkhan Singh Bishnoi.

In its chargesheet produced in February, the CBI had named Maderna as the mastermind behind Bhanwari's disappearance and subsequent murder.

While the CBI has chargesheeted Maderna, Malkhan Singh, and Malkhan's brother Parasram Bishnoi as the key conspirators, nine others have been named as the actual murderers.

Bhanwari Devi, a trained midwife and nurse, went missing in September last year and the remains of her body were discovered by the CBI four months later. The investigating agency filed its second chargesheet in the case in a Jodhpur court on February 29. In the 97-page document, the CBI told a morbid story of sex, deceit, plot and counter-plot and finally, the gruesome murder of Bhanwari Devi.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, said that Bhanwari was introduced to Mahipal Singh Maderna by ex-MLA Malkhan Singh who had allegedly had an affair with the nurse. The chargesheet claimed that Malkhan Singh's sister, Indira Bishnoi, convinced Bhanwari to record a sex CD with Mr Maderna, who was then Rajasthan's Minister for Water Resources. The CBI said Ms Bishnoi allegedly wanted to disgrace Mr Maderna, so that her brother could pitch for the minister's post. Bhanwari, the investigating agency said, instead began blackmailing Mr Maderna with the CD of the two of them together.

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Sohanlal, hired by Malkhan Singh, stole the CD from Bhanwari Devi's house and distributed copies among journalists, who made it public, the CBI said. The CBI chargesheet later said there were two men fed up of meeting Bhanwari Devi's demands: Mr Maderna, who was being blackmailed, and Malkhan Singh, who the CBI claims is the father of Bhanwari's youngest child and was constantly being asked for money by her.

So, the CBI said, the two political rivals, plotted together to get rid of Bhanwari Devi. They allegedly hired two men Sohanlal and Shahabuddin to kidnap the nurse from a bus and kill her.

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Two other men, Bishna Ram and Kailash Jakhar, were allegedly assigned to get rid of her corpse, according to the CBI. The team had reportedly been identified and assimilated by Sahi Ram, known to be a close aide of Mr Maderna.

Then, another twist in the tale, when Bhanwari disappeared on September 1, 2011. Indira Bishnoi convinced Bhanwari's husband Amarchand to file a complaint naming Mr Maderna, who was forced to resign. Mr Maderna was later arrested along with ex-MLA Malkhan Singh. The CBI said that both men should be moved into separate prisons since they were trying to influence witnesses. The CBI also charged both men under the SC/ST Act in the chargesheet filed on February 29.

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Bhanwari's husband Amarchand originally fought in court to have the case handed over to the CBI and also campaigned for Mr Maderna to be investigated for rape and murder. He was arrested after he allegedly attempted to escape from the CBI questioning centre in Jodhpur. The agency contended that he did not cooperate during questioning and hence was taken into custody. The CBI later claimed that its probe has found that he too was part of the murder plan and was offered Rs. 10 lakh to be part of the conspiracy.

With the trial now starting, the Jodhpur court will now hold regular hearings in the case that has rocked Rajasthan for the past seven months.