Hearing in Khairlanji case adjourned till next month

Nagpur, May 6 (UNI) The hearing in the case pertaining to last year's killing of four members of a dalit family by villagers in Khairlanji in Bhandara district in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, has been adjourned till next month.

First Ad Hoc Judge and First Additional Sessions Judge S S Das in Bhandara, who is hearing the case, has fixed the next dates of hearing from June 11 to 15 and from July 9 to 13, respectively.

Earlier, the hearing was adjourned on Friday after a prosecution witness Mukesh Asaram Pusam fainted in the courtroom while deposing.

Mr Pusam was rushed to a hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

Doctors attending on him said Mr Pusam had fainted due to mental strain. Mr Pusam could not take the stand yesterday also as he remained under treatment in the hospital.

The hearing in the case began on Thursday with the deposition of a 'formal witness' (persons who assisted the investigation), Tarachand Dandare, sectional engineer of Public Works Department (PWD), who had prepared the maps of various sites related to the incident.

The CBI has filed a chargesheet under sections 120 (B), 302, 449 and 201 of the IPC, and sections 3, 2 and 6 of the Atrocities Act against 11 accused in the case. 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 year over a land dispute.

UNI