Relatives of Bihar twin massacres victims to move SC

The relatives of those killed in the Bhatani Tola and the Laxmanpur Bathe massacres in Bihar will appeal in the Supreme Court against the Patna High Court verdict acquitting all the accused.

Expressing outrage over the high court's verdict, Chitranjan Singh, national secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Wednesday said the killings were carried out by the Ranvir Sena at Bhatani Tola (July 11, 1996) and Laxmanpur Bathe (Dec 1, 1997).

"Moreover, instead of investigating the matter in depth, the Bihar government also dismantled the Amir Das commission, set up to investigate the nexus between political parties and the Ranvir Sena," said Chitranjan at a public hearing of the massacres at the Jantar Mantar here.

Dipankar Bhattacharya of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-Liberation said Ranvir Sena has strong nexus with political parties in Bihar which helps them to dominate the Dalit communities.

"Whey do the deprived sections of society always face violence?" he asked.

"The state and the central governments will have to pay attention to the poor condition of Dalits in Bihar, who after so many years of the massacre still face life threats from Ranvir Sena members, whenever they attempt to seek justice."

--Indo-Asian news Service

rup/rr/bg