Mirchpur dalits killings; HC rejects bail pleas of 3 convicts

A bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and S P Garg dismissed the interim bail applications of convicts Kulwinder, Dharambir and Ramphal, after perusing the reports furnished by senior superintendent of police of Hissar district in Haryana.

The court, meanwhile, fixed seven petitions, filed against the lower court verdict, for hearing on July, 16, 17 and 18.

Fifteen persons, including the trio who applied for the bail, were awarded varying jail terms by the lower court for their involvements in the April 2010 killings of a 70-year-old dalit Tarachand and his physically-challenged teen-aged daughter Suman at Haryana's Mirchpur village.

While Kulwinder, Ramphal and Rajender were awarded life imprisonment, five others -- Baljeet, Karamveer, Karampal, Dharambir and Bobal -- were handed down varying jail terms up to five years for their roles in the offence.

Seven others, convicted under milder penal provisions, were released on probation by the lower court, which had earlier acquitted 82 out of 97 accused in the case.

The convicts, belonging to Jat community, were held guilty for setting ablaze Tarachand's house, which caused the deaths. The incident had taken place after a dispute between Jats and Dalits of the village.