Kherlanji massacre
Encyclopedia
The Kherlanji massacre refers to the 2006 lynching-style murders of a Dalit
family by members of the politically dominant, but backward Kunbi
caste. The killings took place in a small village in India
named Khairlanji, located in the Bhandara district
of the state of Maharashtra
. On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Dalit
underclass were slaughtered in Khairlanji, a small village in Bhandara district
of Maharashtra
. The women of the family, Surekha and Priyanka, were paraded naked in public, before being murdered. The Indian media did not cover this incident till the Nagpur riots by the Dalits and then uniformly and wrongly ascribed the killings to "upper castes", a claim picked up by Human Rights organisations and the international media, reinforcing the stereotype of "upper castes" versus "lower castes". Later it was discovered that the criminal act was carried out by assailants from the politically powerful Kunbi
caste (classified as Other Backward Castes by Government of India) for "opposing" the requisition of their field to have a road built over it. Initial reports suggested that the women were allegedly gang-raped before being murdered. Though CBI
investigations revealed that the women were not raped, there are allegations of bribery
of doctors who performed the post-mortem, and of corruption.
There were allegations that the local police shielded the alleged perpetrators in the ongoing investigation. A government report on the killings, prepared by the social justice department and YASHADA – the state academy of developmental administration, has implicated top police officers, doctors and even a Congress
Member of the Legislative Assembly, Madhukar Kukade, in an alleged coverup and hindering the investigations. Kukade has denied these charges, saying that he had not even been in Kherlanji in months. The state Home Minister R R Patil admitted to initial lapses in police investigation and said that five policemen suspended in killings have been sacked. In December 2006, CBI filed a chargesheet against 11 persons under charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly with deadly weapons and outraging the modesty of women. CBI also said that it will investigate the role of the 36 people under detention.
The media coverage of the incident was initially weak, but picked up momentum after an investigative feature article by Sabrina Buckwalter in The Times of India provided the first mainstream, in depth coverage of the massacre. The Indian blogosphere
responded significantly, with thousands of bloggers expressing outrage at the media for "poor coverage" of the incident. A famous expatriate Indians' blog posts:
In September 2008, six people were awarded the death sentence for the crime. However, on 14 July 2010, the Nagpur bench of the High Court commuted the death penalty awarded to the six convicted to a 25-year rigorous imprisonment jail sentence.
to protest against the Khairlanji incident. On November 23, 2006, several members of the Dalit
community in the nearby district of Chandrapur staged a protest over the Khairlanji killings. The protesters allegedly turned violent and threw stones. The police baton-charged the protesters to control the situation. Dalit leaders, however, denied that they had caused any violence and claimed that they were "protesting in peace".
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 600,000 to the next of kin of the victims' family, and housing and job awards to the affected family members. He also assured that his government would give an additional Rs 200,000 to them from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
of an Ambedkar
statue in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh
) triggered off violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra. Several people, including the Maharashtra Chief Minister
Vilasrao Deshmukh
and the Mumbai
Police Commissioner A N Roy remarked that the protests were fuelled by the Khairlanji killings.
List of people held guilty of murder:
List of acquitted people:
The first ad-hoc sessions judge, S S Dass, had heard the arguments of prosecution and defence on the quantum of punishment and had fixed September 24 for his pronouncement. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam
had made a forceful plea for capital punishment to all the convicts. Defence lawyers Sudip Jaiswal and Neeraj Khandewale pleaded for leniency in view of the act committed in the heat of the moment and clean past record of the convicts.
On September 24, 2008, six people were awarded the death sentence, while two others were given life imprisonment. The ruling was appealed to the Nagpur division bench of the Bombay High Court where hearings began in April 2010. Justices A P Lawande and R C Chavan heard arguments in the case until 21 April 2010, at which point they announced the verdict would be announced on 15 June 2010. However, Justice Lawande on 15 June said the decision would be deferred until 14 July 2010 as Justice Chavan is posted in Bombay.
The ruling touched off statewide protests and re-kindled the fury of injustice felt by local dalit organizations and the sole survivor, Bhaiyalal Bhotmange. The court ruled that the murders resulted from an act of revenge and was not caste related.
Bhotmange was told that the CBI would appeal the commutation to the Supreme Court, however, after over two weeks of no action, Bhotmange announced he would appeal the decision himself.
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
family by members of the politically dominant, but backward Kunbi
Kunbi
Kunbi is a generic term applied to castes of traditionally non-elite tillers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa , Lonari and Tirole communities of Vidharbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra but also exist in the...
caste. The killings took place in a small village in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
named Khairlanji, located in the Bhandara district
Bhandara district
Bhandara district is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district headquarters are located at Bhandara. The district occupies an area of 3890 km² and has a population of 1,135,835 of which 15.47% are urban . It is fondly called as the 'District of Lakes'...
of the state of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. On September 29, 2006, four members of the Bhotmange family belonging to the Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
underclass were slaughtered in Khairlanji, a small village in Bhandara district
Bhandara district
Bhandara district is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district headquarters are located at Bhandara. The district occupies an area of 3890 km² and has a population of 1,135,835 of which 15.47% are urban . It is fondly called as the 'District of Lakes'...
of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. The women of the family, Surekha and Priyanka, were paraded naked in public, before being murdered. The Indian media did not cover this incident till the Nagpur riots by the Dalits and then uniformly and wrongly ascribed the killings to "upper castes", a claim picked up by Human Rights organisations and the international media, reinforcing the stereotype of "upper castes" versus "lower castes". Later it was discovered that the criminal act was carried out by assailants from the politically powerful Kunbi
Kunbi
Kunbi is a generic term applied to castes of traditionally non-elite tillers in Western India. These include the Dhonoje, Ghatole, Hindre, Jadav, Jhare, Khaire, Lewa , Lonari and Tirole communities of Vidharbha. The communities are largely found in the state of Maharashtra but also exist in the...
caste (classified as Other Backward Castes by Government of India) for "opposing" the requisition of their field to have a road built over it. Initial reports suggested that the women were allegedly gang-raped before being murdered. Though CBI
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation is a government agency of India that serves as a criminal investigation body, national security agency and intelligence agency. It was established on 1 April 1963 and evolved from the Special Police Establishment founded in 1941...
investigations revealed that the women were not raped, there are allegations of bribery
of doctors who performed the post-mortem, and of corruption.
There were allegations that the local police shielded the alleged perpetrators in the ongoing investigation. A government report on the killings, prepared by the social justice department and YASHADA – the state academy of developmental administration, has implicated top police officers, doctors and even a Congress
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
Member of the Legislative Assembly, Madhukar Kukade, in an alleged coverup and hindering the investigations. Kukade has denied these charges, saying that he had not even been in Kherlanji in months. The state Home Minister R R Patil admitted to initial lapses in police investigation and said that five policemen suspended in killings have been sacked. In December 2006, CBI filed a chargesheet against 11 persons under charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly with deadly weapons and outraging the modesty of women. CBI also said that it will investigate the role of the 36 people under detention.
The media coverage of the incident was initially weak, but picked up momentum after an investigative feature article by Sabrina Buckwalter in The Times of India provided the first mainstream, in depth coverage of the massacre. The Indian blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
responded significantly, with thousands of bloggers expressing outrage at the media for "poor coverage" of the incident. A famous expatriate Indians' blog posts:
"As coverage of India in the mainstream media has moved on from snake-charmers to Bollywood and now to its economic strengths; its own politicians and foreign journalists gloss over the fact that deep in the heartlands there remain serious social problems".
In September 2008, six people were awarded the death sentence for the crime. However, on 14 July 2010, the Nagpur bench of the High Court commuted the death penalty awarded to the six convicted to a 25-year rigorous imprisonment jail sentence.
Protests
Protests against the killings in the Kherlanji village took place in various parts of Maharashtra. On November 19, 2006, over 4,000 Dalits gathered at the Azad maidan in MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
to protest against the Khairlanji incident. On November 23, 2006, several members of the Dalit
Dalit
Dalit is a designation for a group of people traditionally regarded as Untouchable. Dalits are a mixed population, consisting of numerous castes from all over South Asia; they speak a variety of languages and practice a multitude of religions...
community in the nearby district of Chandrapur staged a protest over the Khairlanji killings. The protesters allegedly turned violent and threw stones. The police baton-charged the protesters to control the situation. Dalit leaders, however, denied that they had caused any violence and claimed that they were "protesting in peace".
Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh , popularly known as Vilasrao is the current Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences....
announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 600,000 to the next of kin of the victims' family, and housing and job awards to the affected family members. He also assured that his government would give an additional Rs 200,000 to them from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
2006 Dalit protests in Maharashtra
In November–December 2006, the desecrationDesecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful or contemptuous treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.-Detail:...
of an Ambedkar
B. R. Ambedkar
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , popularly also known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, political leader, philosopher, thinker, anthropologist, historian, orator, prolific writer, economist, scholar, editor, a revolutionary and one of the founding fathers of independent India. He was also the Chairman...
statue in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
) triggered off violent protests by Dalits in Maharashtra. Several people, including the Maharashtra Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Deshmukh
Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh , popularly known as Vilasrao is the current Minister of Science and Technology and Minister of Earth Sciences....
and the Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
Police Commissioner A N Roy remarked that the protests were fuelled by the Khairlanji killings.
2008 September Verdict by the Bhandara court
The verdict in the 2006 Khairlanji court case was announced on 15 September 2008. Bhandara Sessions court has held eight people guilty of murder and acquitted three.List of people held guilty of murder:
- Gopal Sakru Binjewar
- Sakru Binjewar
- Shatrughna Dhande
- Vishwanath Dhande
- Prabhakar Mandlekar
- Jagdish Mandlekar
- Ramu Dhande
- Shishupal Dhande
List of acquitted people:
- Mahipal Dhande
- Dharmpal Dhande
- Purshottam Titirmare
The first ad-hoc sessions judge, S S Dass, had heard the arguments of prosecution and defence on the quantum of punishment and had fixed September 24 for his pronouncement. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam
Ujjwal Nikam
Ujjwal Nikam is the Special Public Prosecutor for the Mumbai terror attacks that occurred in November 2008...
had made a forceful plea for capital punishment to all the convicts. Defence lawyers Sudip Jaiswal and Neeraj Khandewale pleaded for leniency in view of the act committed in the heat of the moment and clean past record of the convicts.
On September 24, 2008, six people were awarded the death sentence, while two others were given life imprisonment. The ruling was appealed to the Nagpur division bench of the Bombay High Court where hearings began in April 2010. Justices A P Lawande and R C Chavan heard arguments in the case until 21 April 2010, at which point they announced the verdict would be announced on 15 June 2010. However, Justice Lawande on 15 June said the decision would be deferred until 14 July 2010 as Justice Chavan is posted in Bombay.
2010 July verdict by the Bhandara court
On 14 July the Nagpur bench of the High Court commuted the death penalty awarded to the six convicted to a 25-year rigorous imprisonment jail sentence. The two others who received life sentences received a similar sentence.The ruling touched off statewide protests and re-kindled the fury of injustice felt by local dalit organizations and the sole survivor, Bhaiyalal Bhotmange. The court ruled that the murders resulted from an act of revenge and was not caste related.
Bhotmange was told that the CBI would appeal the commutation to the Supreme Court, however, after over two weeks of no action, Bhotmange announced he would appeal the decision himself.