8 held guilty of Khairlanji killings

Trial Court Dismisses Caste-Hatred Angle, Acquits Three Of 11 Accused

Bhandara: A fast-track trial court here on Monday convicted eight of the 11 accused of killing four Dalits in Khairlanji village of Bhandara district in Maharashtra while acquitting three.

A mob of about 50 villagers — mostly tribals and other backward castes — had attacked the house of Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange, a Dalit farmer, on September 29, 2006, and killed his wife Surekha and three children, an incident that triggered violent Dalit protests in different parts of Maharashtra.

The quantum of punishment will be announced on September 24. Bhotmange, the sole survivor of the massacre, expressed unhappiness over the fact that three of the accused were acquitted and the court found no case of caste hatred. ‘‘Now, the eight convicted persons should be hanged. No mercy must be shown to them,’’ he said, reacting to the verdict.

On September 29, 2006, Bhotmange’s wife Surekha, teenage daughter Priyanka, sons Sudhir and Roshan were lynched by a frenzied mob at Khairlanji. Bhotmange escaped the attack as he ran away from the spot to seek help leaving his four family members, among them his blind son, Sudhir, to face the wrath of the villagers.

Ending a 16-month trial in the case, additional ad-hoc district and sessions judge S S Das significantly dismissed the caste-hatred angle, saying there was no evidence to that effect. Hence, none of the accused could be charged under the Prevention of Atrocities on Scheduled Caste and Tribes Act (1989).

Of the 11 accused, the eight — Gopal Binjewar, Sakru Binjewar, Shatrughan Dhande, Vishwanath Dhande, Ramu Dhande, Jagdish Mandlekar, Prabhakar Mandlekar and Shishupal Dhande — were pronounced guilty of murder, unlawful assembly and rioting as well destruction of evidence. The three acquitted are Mahipal Dhande, Dharmapal Dhande and Purshottam Titarmare.

The 11 accused stood in a corner of the court as the judge addressed them directly explaining the implications of his verdict. He read only the operational summary of the 150-page judgment and announced that the quantum of the sentence would be pronounced only after hearing the prosecution and defence arguments on the sentence.

September 20 has been fixed for arguments and the sentencing will be announced on September 24. Considering the sensitive nature of the case, there was heavy security in the court. Entry was restricted and only people with passes were permitted inside.

Judge Das rejected the defence argument that the Dalit Bhotmanges were attacked because they lived with self-respect and that the higher-caste villagers hated them. He also ruled out any conspiracy. The motive for the killing, the judge observed, was a feeling of revenge that the villagers harboured against Surekha and Priyanka who deposed against some of them in an earlier assault case against Siddharth Gajbhiye, the police patil of nearby Dhusala village. Significantly, the judge said there was evidence of molestation of Surekha and Priyanka. Their naked bodies were fished out of the canal but there was nothing to prove that the accused had removed their clothes before ferrying their bodes in a bullock cart and thrown them into the canal. Thus, even the charge under IPC 354 (molestation) could not be proved.
With the Thanks from the Time of India
Source:- The Times of India 16 Sep. 2008 P.9
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