16 get death sentence in Bihar Dalit massacre

Patna, Apr 7: A Bihar court on Wednesday, Apr 7, awarded death sentence to 16 people and life imprisonment to 10 others in the 13-year-old Laxmanpur Bathe carnage case.

The verdict was pronounced by Additional District and Sessions Judge Vijay Prakash Mishra of Patna court.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on those sentenced to life.

With this verdict, the families of the victims have finally got justice nearly 13 years after the massacre took place.

58 Dalits, including 27 women and 10 children, were gunned down by the Ranvir Sena, a private militia of land owners, at Laxmanpur Bathe village on Dec 1, 1997.

Earlier, the case was transferred to Patna from Jehanabad following a Patna High Court order in Oct, 1999.

Charges were framed in the case against 46 Ranvir Sena men on Dec 23, 2008.

Around 91 of 152 witnesses in the case had deposed before the court.

OneIndia News