Government cancels Wahane's appointment in Khairlanji trial

Nagpur, Apr 13 (UNI) The appointment of Shashibhushan Wahane as Additional Special Public Prosecutor, to conduct the trial of 11 accused in the case pertaining to last year's killings of four members of a Dalit family by villagers in Khairlanji in Bhandara district in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, has been cancelled, the state government has informed the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.

The state government had issued a notification on Wednesday cancelling Mr Wahane's appointment, the office of the Government Pleader here told a Division Bench comprising Justice Dilip Sinha and Justice A P Lavande yesterday. The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange, the lone survivor in his family after the gruesome killings, challenging Mr Wahane's appointment.

After perusing the government notification, the court disposed of Mr Bhotmange's petition as it had been rendered infructuous with the cancellation of Mr Wahane's appointment.

At the previous hearing on March 29 last, the Bench had not issued any notice on the petition and had directed the counsel for the government to obtain instructions from the Law and Judiciary Department of the Government of Maharashtra in this regard. The state government had appointed Mr Wahane to assist noted lawyer Ujwal Nikam, who is the Special Public Prosecutor in the case. Ejaz Khan is the counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has filed a charge-sheet under sections 120 (B), 302, 449 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sections 3, 2 and 6 of the Atrocities Act against 11 accused.

Earlier, 36 persons who had been arrested in connection with the case, were set free as the CBI did not file any charges against them due to lack of evidence.

Surekha Bhotmange (45), daughter Priyanka (18), and sons Roshan (23) and Sudhir (21) were lynched by a mob in Khairlanji late on the night of September 29 last over a land dispute. The police had arrested 47 persons in total during investigations into the incident.

The probe was later handed over to the CBI.

UNI