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10 Years of Khairlanji
Was justice really done in the Khairlanji massacre? Is there any let-up in atrocities against Dalits? More importantly, will the victims get justice given the depressing trend in recent judgments, where perpetrators of violence against Dalits have been repeatedly acquitted?
On 29 September this year, the infamous Khairlanji caste atrocity would be 10 years old. It is on this fateful day in 2006 that Bhaiyalal Bhotmange’s entire family—his wife Surekha (44), daughter Priyanka (17), sons Roshan (19) and Sudhir (21)—was lynched to death by a mob of caste-Hindu villagers. For various reasons, the case had evoked late responses from Dalits, but when it did, it spontaneously engulfed the whole of Maharashtra in conflagrations of protest.
It even had reverberations abroad. It was tried as one of the fastest-tracked cases and punishments were meted out to the culprits within two years. The decision in the case was appealed in the high court, which also came to a judgment within two years. The case is now with the Supreme Court.
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