Koppal | Dalit atrocity case in Marakumbi: Convicted accused dies
Koppal: A convict involved in a 2015 atrocity case against Dalits in Marakumbi village has passed away today (Friday) morning. The incident involved a violent assault on Dalits, including setting fire to their huts after entering their colony.
Yesterday (Oct 24), the court sentenced 98 individuals to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each, while three other convicts from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe backgrounds received a 5-year jail sentence and a Rs 2,000 fine. Among them was Ramanna Bhovi, aged 30.
Ramanna, who had been unwell, was taken directly from the District and Sessions Court to the government district hospital last night but succumbed this morning (Oct 25) despite medical treatment.
In 2015, a clash arose in Marakumbi village in Gangavati taluk over the refusal to allow Dalits access to local barber shops and hotels. Police officials visited Marakumbi and registered a case, initiating an investigation. Enraged by this, a group of villagers attacked the Dalit colony at night and set their huts on fire.
In connection with this case, 117 villagers faced charges, with some accused already deceased. Charges were proven against 101 individuals, and 100 of them appeared for trial and were arrested. One accused did not appear but was later taken into custody by the police.
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UP Police use tear gas to disperse crowd throwing stones during Sambhal mosque survey
Sambhal (UP) (PTI): Police used tear gas and "minor force" in the face of stone pelting by locals here on Sunday as tension escalated during a second survey of the Mughal-era mosque, claimed to be originally the site of an ancient Hindu temple.
Tension has been seething in Sambhal over the past few days after the Jama Masjid was surveyed last Tuesday on the orders of a local court following a petition that claimed that a Harihar temple stood at the site.
According to the local administration, a second survey by an "Advocate Commissioner" as part of a court-ordered examination into the disputed site began around 7 am and a crowd began gathering at the spot.
"Some miscreants came out of the crowd gathered near the site and pelted stones at the police team. The police used minor force and tear gas to bring the situation under control," Superintendent of Police Krishna Kumar Vishnoi said.
He said those who engaged in stone pelting and those who incited them will be identified and action taken against them.
District Magistrate Rajendra Pesia said, "Some miscreants resorted to stone pelting but the situation is peaceful now and the survey is underway."
Videos of youths throwing stones at police, purportedly near the site of the survey in Sambhal have surfaced on the Internet.
Supreme Court lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, who is also the petitioner in the case, had said the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) ordered the constitution of an "Advocate Commission" to survey the mosque.
The court has said that a report should be filed after conducting a videography and photography survey through the commission, he had said.
The Central and Uttar Pradesh governments, the mosque committee and the district magistrate of Sambhal have been made parties in the petition concerning the mosque, Jain said last Tuesday.
Vishnu Shankar Jain and his father Hari Shankar Jain have represented the Hindu side in many cases related to places of worship, including the Gyanvapi Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute.
Gopal Sharma, a local lawyer for the Hindu side, told PTI on Friday that in his petition filed in the court, he mentioned that "Baburnama" and the "Ain-e-Akbari" has confirmed that a Harihar temple was at the site where the Jama Masjid now stands.
He also claimed that the temple was demolished by Mughal Emperor Babur in 1529.
Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Zia Ur Rehman Barq had objected to the developments.
"The Jama Masjid of Sambhal is historical and very old. The Supreme Court had given the order in 1991 that whatever religious places are there in whatever condition since 1947, they will remain at their places," he had said.
The next date for hearing in this case is January 29.
VIDEO | Uttar Pradesh: Stones and slippers pelted in Sambhal when a survey team reached Shahi Jama Masjid to conduct a survey of the mosque.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 24, 2024
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7)#SambhalJamaMasjid pic.twitter.com/K4QGGpzlMK
