Mirchpur dharna continues; rail traffic disrupted

Police personnel have been deployed in strength to maintain peace in view of the dharna by members of the Jat community on both the railway tracks on a distance of about one km leading to the Jind Junction station.

The protesters,including a large number of women from Mirchpur and adjoining villages,raised slogans against the Central government.

Meanwhile,according to a report from Hissar,tension prevailed in Mirchpur village after the 98 accused of the upper community were sent from the district prison to Tihar Jail.

Following the direction of a Delhi court,the district police had on Saturday produced all the inmates before it,who sent them to Tihar Jail till the next hearing.

The railway traffic on the Delhi-Ferozepur section has been disrupted due to the dharna,the call for which was issued by a Jat Mahapanchayat of 42 khaps here recently,demanding a fresh probe into the Mirchpur incident,including booking of members of their community.

The protesters maintained that their dharna would be peaceful and they would not indulge in any violent activities such as uprooting of the railway track.

Railway sources said that trains have been been diverted via other routes,including Jakhal.

Though the Mirchpur village falls in Hisar district,the protesters have commenced their protest dharna in Jind district as their village is only 15 kms from here.

A Delhi court,on January 9,had directed the Haryana Government to move all the 98 accused from Hisar jail to a prison in the national capital following the transfer of their trial in the case relating to the attack on Dalits allegedly by members of the upper caste Jat community in Mirchpur village in April last year

The direction was made in view of the fact that the case related to the killing of 70-year-old Dalit Tara Chand and his 17-year-old polio-stricken daughter Suman,allegedly by a mob,was transferred to a special court in Delhi designated under the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act by an order of the Supreme Court on December 9 last year.

The protesters have opposed the shifting of the trial of the case to a court at Rohini in New Delhi and lodging of the accused in a prison in the national capital and demanded that the probe should be held either at Rohtak or Hisar and the accused should be lodged in either of the two jails.

The trial was shifted to a Rohini court recently after the aggrieved party had approached the Supreme Court claiming that a fair trial was not possible within the state.

A dalit,Tara Chand and his polio-stricken daughter were killed when their house was set afire on April 21 last year in Mirchpur district after which 98 members of the Jat community were booked.