Click to play videoMumbai: Almost two years after his family was brutally murdered, Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange’s pleas for justice have been answered.
Amidst stepped up security, the Bhandara district fast track court on Monday held eight people guilty and acquitted three others for lack of evidence.
The September 29, 2006 killings in Bhandara's Khairlanji village caused a nationwide outcry. A mob of about 50 villagers attacked the house of Bhotmange, a Dalit farmer and lynched four members of his family including his wife Surekha, daughter Priyanka and two sons Dilip and Roshan.
“The whole village was involved. All 11 people should be punished,” Bhotmange said.
The convictions in the case came after a two-year legal battle. Initially treated as a fallout of a village feud, the murders were later seen as a case of atrocity against a Dalit family.
But the court on Monday observed that there was no evidence to charge them under Prevention of Atrocities Act, which in fact shocked Dalit groups and activists across Maharashtra.
“All the charges under Atrocities Act have been dropped by the magistrate. This is the most disappointing part of the result.” activist, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Teesta Setalvad said.
The Bhandara court will decide the quantum of sentence on September 20. For Bhotmange, the verdict could give some closure, but for now it’s only a partial victory.
Bhotmange wants the guilty to be given a harsh punishment that leaves a precedent.
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