Dalit groups in Rajasthan on Monday demanded filing of appeal against a seven-month-old judgment of Bharatpur’s special court acquitting 41 persons in the infamous Kumher massacre of 1992, in which 16 Dalits were killed and 45 were injured. Neither the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the case, nor the State government has moved an appeal in the Rajasthan High Court in the matter.
The special court in Bharatpur hearing the cases under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act had on September 30, 2023 acquitted 41 persons for lack of evidence and convicted nine accused, while handing down the life sentence to them 31 years after the incident. Of the 83 accused in the case, 32 died during the protracted trial and one absconded.
A 5,000-strong crowd of the Jat community had attacked a locality inhabited by Dalits belonging to the Jatav community in broad daylight in Bharatpur district’s Kumher town following a dispute on June 6, 1992, and set ablaze 254 homes and hutments. All the houses were destroyed and the victims, including some women, were burnt alive in the worst-ever anti-Dalit carnage.
The case, which was initially investigated by the Rajasthan Police, was later handed over to the CBI. The CBI recorded the statements of 283 witnesses, who were produced in the court for evidence, and filed chargesheets against 83 accused persons.
The convicts punished with life imprisonment were Lakho, Prem Singh, Man Singh, Rajveer, Pitam, Paras Jain, Chetan, Shiv Singh and Gopal. The court also imposed a fine on the convicts. A Division Bench of the High Court has since suspended the life sentence of the nine convicts on their plea that their names did not appear in the original first information report (FIR) and the police had failed to recover any weapons from them.
The Centre for Dalit Rights (CDR) and some other Dalit groups have submitted memorandums to the CBI Director, Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, and the State government’s Principal Secretary (Home) and Principal Secretary (Social Justice and Empowerment), seeking immediate action in the matter.
CDR director Satish Kumar said the prosecuting agencies had not filed an appeal in the High Court to challenge the acquittal and seek stern punishment to those responsible for the massacre despite the lapse of seven months since the judgement was delivered. “The lack of action not only shows a blatant administrative apathy but also proves that the government is not serious about controlling the crimes against Dalits,” Mr. Kumar said.
Mr. Kumar pointed out that the SC/ST (PoA) Act and the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) had laid down 90 days as the maximum time limit for filing of appeals in the High Court. “The trial court’s judgment has several shortcomings which need to be challenged in the High Court,” he said, adding that the Bharatpur district had witnessed caste violence at regular intervals, as Jats dominate social affairs in the region.
Following the protests over the massacre, the State government had appointed a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice K.S. Lodha to probe the incident. In its report submitted in 1996, the Commission recommended setting up of a separate cell under the direct control of the District Magistrate for collection and transmission of information about sensitive relations between various resident castes of the district. The report was tabled in the State Assembly in 2005 after a direction of the High Court.
Mr. Kumar said a citizens’ audit report on the implementation of the SC/ST (PoA) Act had recently stated that the Rajasthan government had filed appeals in less than 1% of the cases of acquittal by the special courts under the Act between 2017 and 2021. “This shows a serious inaction by the government to secure justice to Dalit victims of violence and its failure to protect their dignity and respect,” he said.
