In 2009, seven-year-old Yogita Thakre was found dead in Nagpur with
bruises all over her body in a car owned by Nitin Gadkari, and parked at
his home. At this time, Mr Gadkari had not yet been selected the chief
of the BJP; he was the president of its Maharashtra branch. Yogita's
mother, who worked as a domestic helper in the area, later said she had
asked the politician's security guards to look after her while she was
at work.Today, a court in Nagpur has ordered the state's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to reinvestigate who killed Yogita. The Nagpur Police and the CID have described the death as an accident, a conclusion which Yogita's family has fought in different courts. Yogita's body bore abrasions and nail marks, injuries they believe were caused by the person who tried to sexually assault her before killing her.
Yogita's mother, Kiran, says the local police was keen to pass off her daughter's death as an accident because the case involves an influential person. "We want our case to be investigated by the CBI to ensure justice is done," she said.
Speaking on NDTV's Your Call a few weeks ago, Mr Gadkari had said he was ready to face an inquiry.
In May 2010, a year after Yogita died, the case was assigned to the CID, which concluded that she suffocated after accidentally locking herself into a car.
But documents show that the investigations are riddled with contradictions. The police first registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence against unidentified persons. A year later, the death was declared an accident.
The panchnama report - where community members stand as witness while the police investigate the scene after someone has died - says the child found in a white Honda CRV owned by Mr Gadkari. But fingerprints were collected from a Fiat Linea parked alongside. Investigating officers later said that the CRV was not present in the compound at the time of Yogita's death; two eyewitnesses testified otherwise.
The post mortem report found blood stains on Yogita's underwear, and abrasions on her private parts, face and lips. The police say the wounds were self-inflicted as the child struggled to escape from the locked car.
Yogita's father works odd jobs as a labourer. Her mother earns Rs. 2,000 a month cleaning other people's homes. This is a tough battle for them, and an expensive one. But they say they will not give up without a fight.
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