The High Court has granted bail to 13 out of 15 upper-caste individuals convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in a brutal caste-based conflict 23 years ago.
The incident involved the burning of Dalit houses and the tragic death of a six-month-old child over a dispute concerning panchayat land in Mathura’s Datia village.
Insights:
The incident, which occurred on 23 January 2001, in the Highway (formerly Narhauli) police station area, saw upper caste individuals forcibly attempting to construct on panchayat land.
The Dalit community’s opposition to this encroachment led to violent clashes.
According to the prosecution, the upper-caste assailants beat the Dalits, fired shots, and set their huts ablaze.
A bullet struck Rajendra Singh in the thigh, and the arsonists burned six-month-old Gudiya alive in a hut.
Initially, the police registered a case against 16 individuals.
The investigation, which began under CO Sadar and later transferred to CBI CID Agra, identified eight more suspects.
In December 2005, the first chargesheet filed, followed by a second in January 2006.
The case faced delays when the Allahabad High Court postponed the hearing on the accused party’s petition, resulting in a stay that lasted until 2021.
The trial resumed that year, but nine of the accused had died during the proceedings.
In January 2024, the district court convicted the remaining 15 individuals, sentencing them to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 73,000 each.
Since their conviction, all 15 convicts have been in jail.
However, a division bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Md. Azhar Hussain Idrishi of the High Court has now granted bail to 13 of the convicts: Jagdish, Lakshmi Narayan alias Lachho, Shyam Singh, Mohan Lal, Ramswaroop, Raman Singh, Karua, Jaipal, Tully, Chiddi Singh, Hari Narayan, Ramchandra, and Kamal Singh.
The bail applications for the remaining two convicts, Nandu alias Nando and Chhagan Lal, who were specifically found guilty of firing during the conflict, will be considered after January 2025.
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