Appeals of 15 convicts in Mirchpur Dalit killing case rejected

New Delhi, Aug 24: The Delhi High Court today dismissed the appeal of 15 persons belonging to the dominant Jat community against their conviction and sentencing in a case of burning alive a 70-year-old Dalit man and his physically-challenged daughter at Mirchpur village in Haryana's Hisar district in 2010.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and I S Mehta said even after 71 years of Independence atrocities on Scheduled Castes community has shown no signs of abating.

The court also directed the Haryana government to rehabilitate families belonging to the Dalit community who were displaced after the 2010 incident.

The high court pronounced the verdict on the appeal of 15 persons challenging their conviction and sentence by a trial court in the case.

The victims and the police had also appealed in the high court seeking enhancement of punishment awarded to the convicts and acquittal of others.

The trial court had on September 24, 2011, convicted 15 of 97 men belonging to the Jat community.

The house of Tara Chand was set on fire resulting in burning alive of the father and daughter on April 21, 2010 after a dispute between Jat and Dalit community of the village.

On October 31, 2011, the trial court had sentenced Kulwinder, Dharambir and Ramphal to life imprisonment for committing unintentional killing under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code.

Five others -- Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal -- were handed down jail term of five years for their offences including rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, mischief and putting ablaze victims' houses and provisions of SC/ST (POA) Act.

Seven others, convicted under milder penal provisions, were released on probation by the trial court, which had earlier acquitted 82 out of 97 accused in the case.