Cong for action against NCP MLA, BJP leaders

PCC general secretary and legislator Nitin Raut has demanded to book NCP legislator Nana Panchabudhe for protecting the culprits of Khairlangi Dalit massacre, reports Pradip Kumar Maitra.

PCC general secretary and legislator Nitin Raut on Friday demanded to book NCP legislator from Bhandara Nana Panchabudhe for protecting the culprits of Khairlangi Dalit massacre.

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Four members of a Dalit family were brutally murdered by the upper caste members at Khairlanji village in Bhandara district in September 2005.

Raut is the one of the few politicians who visited Khairlangi immediately after the incident.

He has also alleged that Lok Sabha member from Bhandara Shishupal Patle and former BJP legislator Madhukar Kukde were shielding the culprits. "They are also deeply involved in the episode," he added.

Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange's wife Surekha, daughter Priyanka, and sons Roshan and Sudhir were hacked to death and thrown into a ditch, only because the family did not part with their land which the upper caste villagers wanted for a road.

In spite of these atrocities, the police initially did not register necessary sections against the culprits because of pressure by local politicians.

The officials, including the concerned police personnel guilty of dereliction of duty while investigating the incident, have been dealt with firmly, he insisted.

The PCC general secretary found an extremely shoddy investigation that smacked of deep-rooted caste bias on the part of police and local officials.

Different parts in the state, particularly Vidarbha, were tense after protests over the killings of members of a Dalit family.

Protestors even damaged the office and tried to set afire the house of Raut at Nagpur on November 6. The protests had turned violent in several places, including Nagpur, Solapur and Amravati.

Raut, who prepared a report on it, sent it to Mrime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and the state Human Rights Commission for necessary action.