Mob that got away with murder

OCTOBER 15, 2002, was a dark Dussehra for five families in Haryana. The lynching of five Dalits near Dulina Police Post in Jhajjar shook the...

OCTOBER 15, 2002, was a dark Dussehra for five families in Haryana. The lynching of five Dalits near Dulina Police Post in Jhajjar shook the nation8217;s conscience. Now, as the court case drags on with all the 30 accused out on bail, their families are still waiting for the culprits to be identified and punished.

Virender and Dayachand from village Badshahpur, Totaram from village Aklimpur, Raju from village Tikli all in district Gurgaon and Kailash from Karnal were beaten to death, allegedly by a mob that found them skinning a cow and thought they were slaughtering one.

The FIR lodged by Jhajjar SHO against 8216;8216;unknown people8217;8217; stated that these five Dalits were attacked by a mob of 4,000-5,000 people who were returning from a Dussehra fair.

THERE are two theories on what transpired next. While some say the mob first handed over the Dalits to the police and then attacked the police post, others say the five men had taken refuge in the police post and were dragged out by the crowds that lynched them to the cries of Gau Mata Ki Jai. Either way, the lynching was said to have taken place in the presence of many senior government officials, including city magistrate, Jhajjar DSP, block development officer and at least 50 policemen.

The families of Virender and Dayachand say they were tanners and worked under a government licence. Totaram was a truck driver and Raju a cleaner. Kailash from Karnal was a leather trader and on the day of the killings they had loaded the truck with animal skin at Gurgaon to be taken to Karnal. Virender and Dayachand were accompanying Kailash to get the payment from Karnal.

Virender8217;s family still refuses to believe their son was killed by a mob. 8216;8216;All five were killed by the police,8217;8217; says Virender8217;s father Ratan Singh. 8216;8216;From whatever we got to know, it is apparent that their truck was stopped by the Jhajjar police who demanded a bribe from them. When they refused, they were brought to the Dulina Police Post and beaten by the police. Kailash, the trader from Karnal, died because of the beating and the police were left with no option but to kill the other four,8217;8217; Singh says. 8216;8216;The police tried to destroy evidence by torching their bodies and throwing them on to the road,8217;8217; he adds.

Two days after the incident, the Haryana government directed Rohtak Divisional Commissioner RR Banswal to look into the killings. Accepting Banswal8217;s report indicting Jhajjar City Magistrate Rajpal Singh 8216;8216;for not performing his duty properly8217;8217;, the Haryana government transferred Singh two months later. In his inquiry report, Banswal had indicted six policemen besides the executive magistrate and other administrative officers.

Story continues below this ad

	CASE FILE
	RUMOUR8217;S RIOT 8226; The five men were skinning a cow8212;the mob thought it was slaughtering one 8226; A report investigating the killings had indicted six policemen 8226; There are 42 witnesses in the case but none of them have been examined yet

THE case also had its share of inanities. The district administration sent the carcass of the cow for a postmortem. The report showed the cow had died the night before. Still, the administration sent the cow8217;s viscera to the Forensic Science Lab at Madhuban to ascertain whether the animal died a natural death or was poisoned.

But details like these do not interest Virender8217;s 60-year-old mother Ramvati. She has just one complaint: 8216;8216;I haven8217;t got justice.8217;8217; His brother Devinder too is bitter. 8216;8216;We got a total of Rs 9.30 lakh as compensation from various people but can money compensate for life?8217;8217;

The case is still on in a Jhajjar court. 8216;8216;It8217;s the stage of evidence,8217;8217; says district attorney Dalip Singh, who is the public prosecutor. 8216;8216;There are 42 witnesses in the case but none of them has been examined till now. Eight of them, including three doctors, were summoned on the last hearing on November 19 but none of them could be examined for different reasons,8217;8217; says Singh.