Khairlanji massacre: Six get death sentence
Sessions Court has awarded death to 6 convicts for murder of Dalits in '06.
By PTI |
BHANDARA: Two years after four members of a Dalit family were brutally murdered at Khairlanji village in Maharashtra, a court here on Wednesday sentenced six convicts to death in the case that had triggered violent protests across the state.
Two others were sent to life in jail by Sessions Court here. In all, 11 people were named accused in the case probed by the CBI. Three of them were acquitted for lack of evidence.
On September 15, Judge S S Dass convicted the remaining eight accused, but acquitted them of charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The acquittal under the ST/SC Act drew strong reactions from Dalit organisations which demanded a re-trial.
But Wednesday's sentences "send out a clear signal that courts award stringent punishment in such cases", said CBI's Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
"I am very happy...it will restore harmony in society," said Nikam, who was also a public prosecutor in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
Those given the capital punishment are Sakru Binjewar, Shatrughna Dhande, Vishwanath Dhande, Ramu Dhande, Jagdish Mandlekar and Prabhakar Mandlekar. Gopal Binjewar and Shishupal Vishwanath Dhande got life sentences.
On September 29, 2006, four Dalits - Surekha Bhaiyalal Bhotmange, her daughter Priyanka and sons Sudhir and Roshan - were beaten to death over a land dispute in Khairlanji. The brutality of the act had sent shockwaves across Maharashtra, and led to violent protests.
Two others were sent to life in jail by Sessions Court here. In all, 11 people were named accused in the case probed by the CBI. Three of them were acquitted for lack of evidence.
On September 15, Judge S S Dass convicted the remaining eight accused, but acquitted them of charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The acquittal under the ST/SC Act drew strong reactions from Dalit organisations which demanded a re-trial.
But Wednesday's sentences "send out a clear signal that courts award stringent punishment in such cases", said CBI's Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
"I am very happy...it will restore harmony in society," said Nikam, who was also a public prosecutor in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
Those given the capital punishment are Sakru Binjewar, Shatrughna Dhande, Vishwanath Dhande, Ramu Dhande, Jagdish Mandlekar and Prabhakar Mandlekar. Gopal Binjewar and Shishupal Vishwanath Dhande got life sentences.
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On September 29, 2006, four Dalits - Surekha Bhaiyalal Bhotmange, her daughter Priyanka and sons Sudhir and Roshan - were beaten to death over a land dispute in Khairlanji. The brutality of the act had sent shockwaves across Maharashtra, and led to violent protests.
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