NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has held 33 people guilty in the 2010 murders of Dalits in Haryana's Hisar district. The bench was hearing the case of the killing of a 70 year old man and his 18 year old physically challenged daughter in an arson attack. Justice Muralidhar and Justice IS Mehta said that after 71 years of independence, instances of atrocities against Scheduled Castes by those belonging to dominant castes have shown no sign of abating.
They said, “The incidents that took place in Mirchpur between 9 to 21 April in 2010 serve as yet another grim reminder of the complete absence of the two things in Indian society as noted by Dr BR Ambedkar when he tabled the final draft of the Constitution of India before the Constituent Assembly on 25 November 1949.” The bench added, “One was equality and the other, fraternity.” They made strong remarks against the “planned attacked” made by the Jat community against the Valmikis.
“This in itself is a telling commentary on the fear and intimidation that the Dalits still experience in Mirchpur as a result of the incidents of April 19, 20 and 21 in 2019.” Tarachand and his physically challenged daughter Suman were killed in an arson attack in April 2010 in their house and a row of other Dalit houses in Mirchpur, about 300 km from Chandigarh. A total of 15 persons from the Jat community were tried and held guilty in the case by the trial court. A total of 97 accused were facing trial in the case.
“The question is whether this accords with the constitutional promise of equality, social justice and fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual,” the court said in its 209 page order.
