Bihar government will move Supreme Court against Patna High Court order setting aside the death sentence to three and life imprisonment to 20 others in the 1996 Bathani Tola carnage case.
“We have decided to move Supreme Court soon challenging the Patna HC order,” State SC/ST Welfare Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi told PTI in Patna on Wednesday.
Mr. Manjhi said he had already apprised Union Social Welfare Minister Mukul Wasnik of the state government’s stand to challenge the Patna High Court order.
The HC had on Monday set aside the death sentence and life imprisonment. The Bhojpur court had on May 3 last year convicted and sentenced three persons to death and 20 others to life imprisonment for the carnage in which 21 Dalits were killed allegedly by Ranvir Sena on July 11, 1996 at Bathani Tola in Bhojpur district.
CPI-ML(Liberation) Polit Bureau member Ramji Rai had on Tuesday said Supreme Court should take cognisance of 1996 Bathani Tola carnage case.
“Nitish Kumar government is involved in the larger conspiracy to facilitate the acquittal of those convicted in the case ...It is a political conspiracy against the poor,” Mr. Rai had alleged.
