2 Dalit kids burnt to death: 6 years on, CBI court accepts closure report, clean chit to 11 accused

By LE Desk

Panchkula, April 19: In a six-year-old case pertaining to two infants burning to death, the special CBI court has accepted the investigating agency’s closure report and given 11 people the clean-chit.

As per the FIR, on the night of October 19, the two children of Jitender from Sunped village, Faridabad, who belonged to the Dalit community, aged two years and nine months, were burnt to death after 11 people allegedly entered his house through the window, poured patrol and set the room on fire.

Jitender said the 11 people while fleeing said they wanted to kill people of the community.

In October, 2015 a case was registered against 11 persons by the police, however, two days later it was transferred to CBI following the Centre’s intervention.

The CBI’s investigation revealed that in October 2014, four persons from the accused’s family were murdered and according to Jitender the men set his house on fire as revenge.

Later, investigations revealed that some negotiations were going on between people belonging to the Thakur and Dalit communities to reach a compromise in the previous murder, but to no avail.

CBI special judge Sushil Kumar Garg observed: “The possibility cannot be ruled out that the complainant might have implicated the accused persons to settle scores of Dalits in the aforesaid murder case”, the Hindustan Times reported.

The order mentioned how the complainant and his wife had made several inconsistent statements. They also finally admitted that they did not see anybody setting the house on fire. Jitender also admitted that the names were given at the insistance of other villagers.

Experts from three laboratories — FSL Madhuban, Karnal, Haryana; CFSL New Delhi, and Telangana State Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad — have opined that there was ‘no forcible entry’ into the bedroom and that the fire originated inside the bedroom from the centre of the bed and that the room was bolted from inside when the fire erupted.

“Clearly observing that there was no indication of outsiders having come inside the room and there being no sign whatsoever of disturbance outside the room,” the order mentioned.

It adds: “The polygraph reports of the suspects and the couple indicate that the responses given by the suspects are not deceptive and consistent, whereas, responses of the couple reflect deception, indicating that they are hiding some vital information instead of revealing the truth. Even the narcoanalysis of Jitender makes his act and conduct doubtful”, according to the Hindustan Times.

The court ordered: “Mere suspicion cannot take the place of proof. Hence, this court is satisfied that there is not sufficient material against the above said accused persons. Thus, it would be a futile exercise in flogging a dead horse only on the ground of mere suspicion and without there being any substantive material on record.”

Accepting the closure report of the CBI, the court said that “the investigation has been conducted in right perspective and no doubt remains to be cleared either by way of re-investigation or by leading evidence.”

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/chandigarh-news/2-dalit-kids-burnt-to-death-6-years-on-cbi-court-accepts-closure-report-clean-chit-to-11-accused-101618864593430.html