Mirchpur killings: Youth sent to six months jail for fleeing

Jasbir, who had escaped on May 24 last year from the court lock up, was recently acquitted in the main case in which a 70-year-old man and his physically challenged daughter were burnt alive by a mob of over 100 people of an upper caste community at Mirchpur village of Haryana's Hisar district on April 21, 2010.

A farmer by profession, Jasbir, 27, had while pleading guilty explained that his mother was extremely unwell and he had escaped from judicial custody to take care of her. He had said that after the death of his mother in August this year, he surrendered before the court.

Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau, who had decided the dalit killing case last year, had declared Jasbir a proclaimed offender. He had surrendered before the court on August 28 this year and also pleaded guilty.

The court awarded the jail term of six months to Jasbir for absconding and evading the proceedings and said any harsh view at this stage would be detrimental to the young convict. It also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him.

"The convict is a young boy and has no previous criminal record. The aggravating factor is that he had escaped from the lock-up (custody of the court) by showing gross indifference and throwing a challenge to the existing legal procedures.

"The mitigating factor is that the convict had allegedly escaped from judicial custody to serve his ailing mother and after his mother had expired, he himself surrendered before this court after conducting her last rites," the judge said. (More)