http://www.rediff.com/news/report/jats-15-convicted-in-mirchpur-dalit-killings/20110924.htm
15 Jats convicted in Mirchpur Dalit killings
September 24, 2011 21:20 IST
Fifteen out of 97 men belonging to dominant Jat community were
convicted on Saturday by a Delhi [ Images ] court in a case of burning
alive of a 70-year-old Dalit man and his physically-challenged
daughter at Mirchpur village of Haryana's Hisar district last year.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, however, held none of the 15
convicts guilty of murdering the father-daughter duo, relying on the
dying declaration of the deceased Tara Chand who had denied he was set
ablaze after having been doused with petrol or kerosene oil.
The forensic reports too supported his dying declaration.
The court acquitted 82 accused saying the allegations levelled against
them were not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
For setting ablaze Tara Chand's house, which resulted in burning alive
of the father-daughter duo on April 21, 2010, after a dispute between
Jat and Dalit community of the village, the court convicted Kulwinder,
Ramphal and Rajender on charges of committing unintetional killing
under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.
"Tara Chand in his dying declaration to the judicial magistrate does
not say that petrol or oil was sprinkled on him, which corroborates
the medical evidence and FSL report which shows absence of kerosene,
petrol or diesel."
"Therefore, the oral testimonies of Pradeep, Kamal and Amar Lal
(prosecution witnesses) to the extent that oil or petrol was sprinkled
on them is liable to be rejected, more so as it does not find support
from the circumstantial, medical and forensic evidence present on
record," the judge said.
Besides the three, 12 others were convicted on milder charges of
arson, rioting and making unlawful assembly. Six of them Monu,
Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal were convicted for
setting ablaze the houses of the members of the Dalit community.
Another six Sumit, Pradeep, Sunil, Rajpal, Rishi and Pradeep were held
guilty for rioting, unlawful assembly and causing damages to
properties by stone-pelting.
The court convicted 15 Jats after examining 68 prosecution witnesses,
44 defence witnesses and one court witness. The court, in it's over
1000-page judgement, classified the witnesses in three categories --
reliable witnesses, not totally reliable and unreliable ones.
It termed five witnesses as totally unreliable and 14 as "not totally
reliable" besides two witnesses as "reliable." The court said the
incident "does not appear to be caste-based discrimination".
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