Dalit killing case: Death penalty for 6
Nashik: Six convicts were on Saturday sentenced to death by a court here for the murder of three dalit men over an inter- caste love affair in Maharashtra’s Sonai village in January 2013. The judge also slapped a fine of 20,000 on each of the convicts.
The Nashik sessions court on Saturday sentenced to death all six convicts in the 2013 Sonai inter- caste honour killing case in which three dalit youth were brutally murdered.
The convicts, comprising the Darandale family and their relatives, had murdered three sanitary workers — Sachin Sohanlal Gharu ( 24), Sandeep Raju Thanvar ( 25) and Tilak Raju Kandare ( 20) — as one of them was in love with a female family member.
Popat alias Raghunath Vishvanath Darandale ( 48), Prakash Vishvanath Darandale ( 34), Ganesh alias Praveen Popat Darandale ( 19), Sandeep Madhav Kurhe ( 33), Ramesh Vishvanath Darandale and Ashok Sudhakar Navgire ( 28) were sentenced to death by hanging on Saturday, while another accused, Ashok Rohidas Phalke, was acquitted on January 15 when the court convicted the six men of murder.
The additional sessions judge Shri R. R. Vaishnav pronounced the judgment on Saturday and observed that the convicts had no right to remain in society, according to special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam.
The murder occurred on January 1, 2013 in Sonai village of Nevasa tehsil in Ahmednagar district. According to sources, Gharu was in love with Seema Popat Darandale, who was pursuing a Bachelors in Education degree at the Ghatge- Patil College at Nevasa Phata in Nevasa tehsil.
The Darandale family was allegedly incensed over the affair and probably planned the coldblooded murder.