Contents

       Prologue

      Rabi: Spring, 2014

       An Accusation Is Made

       Lalli’s Father Buys a Phone

       Cousin Manju Observes Something Strange

       Nazru Sees It Too

       Unspeakable Things

       The Naughty Boy

       The Invisible Women

       Lalli Asks for a Memento

       The Fair Comes to the Village

       Padma Lalli, Gone

       Thieves in the Tobacco

       Where Are They?

       Every Eight Minutes

       Jeevan Lal’s Secret

       Adrenaline in the Fields, Tears at Home

       Nazru Changes His Story, Again

       ‘Bastards, Go Look for Them Yourselves’

       A Finger Is Pointed

       Sohan Lal Storms Out

       Finally, News

       ‘An Unspeakable Sight’

       A Policeman’s Suspicion

       The Poster Child for a New India

       A Reporter’s Big Break

       ‘The Matter Will End’

       The First Politician Arrives

       The Matter Should Be Settled

       Someone to Solve Their Problems

       The Politician’s Aide

       ‘Liars, Thieves and Fucking Scum’

       Cable Wars in the Katra Fields

       Complaints Are Written, Then Torn

       The Bodies Come Down

       A Sweeper and a ‘Weaker’ Doctor

       The Post-Mortem

      Farewell Padma Lalli

      Kharif: Summer, 2014

      The Worst Place in the World

       The Women Who Changed India

       The Zero Tolerance Policy

       A Broken System Exposed

       Separate Milk From Water

       A Red Flag

      The Villagers Talk

       The False Eyewitness

       Purity and Pollution

       A Post-mortem Undone

       ‘Habitual of Sexual Intercourse’

       A Mother Goes ‘Mad’

       Visitors to the Jail

       The Case of the Missing Phones

       The Truth About the Phone