Four members of a Dalit family — Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange’s wife and three children — from Khairlanji village in eastern Vidarbha were killed on September 29, 2006 after wife Surekha and daughter Priyanka helped the police identify the nine assailants of one Siddhartha Gajbhiye of Dhusala village during an identification parade.

The assailants, who were arrested and released on bail the very same day, visited Bhotmange’s house, dragged Surekha out stripped her and battered her to death. While Priyanka, 17, was pulled out of the cowshed and killed in a similar fashion, her two brothers were also killed later. Although there were allegations of rape, medical tests had ruled against it.

“There is nothing before this court to prove that the incident occurred out of caste animosity. Even Bhaiyyalal’s FIR doesn’t mention it. One of the eye-witnesses Suresh Khandate had also said there was no caste animosity,” said Additional Ad-hoc Sessions Judge S S Das.

“There is neither anything to prove that there was a criminal conspiracy to kill the four persons. It was only after Surekha set her cattle-shed afire to deter them that the accused killed all the four. There is also no evidence of outraging modesty of the women. Though the women had been stripped there is no evidence who had done so,” he added.

The judge, however, held Gopal Sakru Binjewar, Sakru Bijewar, Shatrughna Dhande, Vishwanath Dhande, Ramu Dhande, Jagdish Mandlekar, Prabhakar Mandlekar and Shishupal Dhande guilty under various sections of the IPC. Three persons — Mahipal and Dharampal Dhande and Purushottam Titarmare ¿ were acquitted.

The persons were held guilty under sections 148 (unlawful assembly), 149 (rioting), 201 (disposing of dead bodies/disappearance of evidence) and 302 (murder).

The quantum of sentence would be announced at a later date. However, the judge has set September 20 as the next date of hearing following a submission by Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam who raised a legal point.

“I am not satisfied. I think the three acquitted persons should also have been convicted. And there was a caste hatred against us in the village. After studying the final judgment, I will decide what to do next,” said Bhaiyyalal following the verdict.