AGRA: A special SC/ST court in Mathura has sentenced 15 men from an upper caste community to life imprisonment after over two decades, in one of the worst instances of caste violence in the district. The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 73,000 on each convict.
The case dates back to January 23, 2001, when a group of men in Datiya village of Mathura had opened fire on Dalit villagers and burnt down their houses following a dispute over gram panchayat land. A six-month-old child was burnt alive, a man hit by a bullet and several others from the Dalit community injured.
Special public prosecutor Suresh Prasad Sharma said that on the basis of a complaint filed by one of the victims, an FIR was registered at Narholi (now Highway) police station. “Sixteen men were booked and following state orders, the case was taken up by the crime investigation department. Names of eight others found involved in violence were later added to the FIR,” Sharma said.
On Wednesday, the court of additional district judge (SC/ST) convicted 15 of the men under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), and section 3(2)V of the SC/ST Act, he said.
He added: “First chargesheet was filed in December 2005, and a supplementary chargesheet the next month. Twenty-four people were held and nine of them died during the trial… Most of the 15 convicts are aged above 60 years. They were out on bail for a while after securing a HC stay order over the local court’s hearing. This caused a long delay.”
“Fourteen witnesses, including a doctor who conducted the postmortem of the child, testified in court. Two of them turned hostile. Accused got life imprisonment for the infant’s murder and atrocities on members of the Dalit community. Also, 50% of the total penalty amount must be paid to the infant’s parents and the other half distributed among the violence victims,” Sharma said, adding that police and CID conducted a detailed investigation and compiled evidence which the court took into consideration before passing the order.
The grandson of a 70-year-old convict said that they would approach the HC and appeal against the judgment.
The case dates back to January 23, 2001, when a group of men in Datiya village of Mathura had opened fire on Dalit villagers and burnt down their houses following a dispute over gram panchayat land. A six-month-old child was burnt alive, a man hit by a bullet and several others from the Dalit community injured.
Special public prosecutor Suresh Prasad Sharma said that on the basis of a complaint filed by one of the victims, an FIR was registered at Narholi (now Highway) police station. “Sixteen men were booked and following state orders, the case was taken up by the crime investigation department. Names of eight others found involved in violence were later added to the FIR,” Sharma said.
On Wednesday, the court of additional district judge (SC/ST) convicted 15 of the men under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) and 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), and section 3(2)V of the SC/ST Act, he said.
He added: “First chargesheet was filed in December 2005, and a supplementary chargesheet the next month. Twenty-four people were held and nine of them died during the trial… Most of the 15 convicts are aged above 60 years. They were out on bail for a while after securing a HC stay order over the local court’s hearing. This caused a long delay.”
“Fourteen witnesses, including a doctor who conducted the postmortem of the child, testified in court. Two of them turned hostile. Accused got life imprisonment for the infant’s murder and atrocities on members of the Dalit community. Also, 50% of the total penalty amount must be paid to the infant’s parents and the other half distributed among the violence victims,” Sharma said, adding that police and CID conducted a detailed investigation and compiled evidence which the court took into consideration before passing the order.
The grandson of a 70-year-old convict said that they would approach the HC and appeal against the judgment.
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