President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected his first mercy petition of a death-row convict who had burned alive seven members of a family, including five children, over a case of buffalo theft.
The case pertains to gruesome killing of Vijendra Mahto and six of his family members by Jagat Rai in Raghopur block of Bihar’s Vaishali district in 2006.
Mahto had lodged a case of theft of his buffalo in September 2005 in which Rai, Wazir Rai and Ajay Rai were named as accused. The accused [now convicts] were pressuring Mahto to withdraw the case.
Jagat Rai set fire to Mahto’s house resulting in the death of the latter’s wife and five children. Mahto, who had sustained serious burn injuries then, died after few months.
There is no other mercy petition pending with the President’s secretariat.
