Court notice to 82 acquitted in Mirchpur Dalit killing

The Delhi high court on Friday issued notice to all 82 acquitted in the 2010 Mirchpur killings on a plea challenging their acquittal in the arson attack on a Dalit settlement in the village in Haryana's Hisar district.

The Delhi high court on Friday issued notice to all 82 acquitted in the 2010 Mirchpur killings on a plea challenging their acquittal in the arson attack on a Dalit settlement in the village in Haryana's Hisar district.

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A division bench of Justice S Ravindra Bhat and Justice SP Garg also issued notice to Delhi Police. The notices are returnable March 7.

The plea was moved by the family of a 70-year-old Dalit, who was burnt alive in the attack along with his physically-challenged daughter.

The victim's family members and three villagers who filed the petition also sought enhancement of the sentence for 12 of the convicts as five of them were awarded five years jail term and seven others were let off on probation of one year.

The dominant Jat community had extended threats to the victims who deposed before the trial court as a witnesses in the case, said the petition.

Tarachand, 70, and his 18-year-old physically challenged daughter Suman were killed in the April 2010 arson attack on their house and a row of other Dalit houses in Mirchpur village, about 300 km from Chandigarh.

A total of 15 accused, belonging to the Jat community, were tried and held guilty in the case by a trial court.

The court earlier acquitted 82 out of 97 accused in the case, saying the allegations levelled against them were not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

The attack followed a dispute between members of the Jat and Dalit communities of the village.