Facing death penalty, Dalit case convict dies of heart attack

A55-year-old convict in the 2013 Sonai murder case, in which three Dalit men were killed in Ahmednagar district, died following a heart attack today, an official said.

Popat Darandale was sentenced to death along with five other accused in the sensational case by a court in Nashik in January this year.

Darandale had been lodged in the Nashik Road Central Jail. Two days ago, he was admitted to the Nashik Civil Hospital for treatment to a heart-related ailment.

At around 6.15 am, he suffered a heart attack and died, jail superintendent Rajkumar Sali told PTI this evening.

After conducting a post-mortem, Darandale's body will be handed over to his relatives, he said.

Three Dalit men were brutally killed in Sonai village on January 1, 2013, and their mutilated body parts were found in a septic tank.

Darandale and five others were arrested for the crime. The six were convicted on various charges, including murder and criminal conspiracy, and awarded the death penalty by the trial court on January 20.

According to the police, the killings were prompted by an inter-caste love affair between Sachin Gharu (24), one of the victims, and a girl from the Maratha community.