Rajasthan: Life imprisonment to the murderer of Dalit youth, know what challenges the family faced for justice?

Special Judge Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Bharatpur, Girija Bhardwaj pronounced the verdict in the Dalit farmer murder case on March 16. Counsel for the complainant said that for the first time, life imprisonment was awarded under relevant sections of SC, ST. The court directed the District Magistrate to arrange a monthly pension of Rs 5000 for the dependent family under the contingency plan.

Published on: 19 Mar 2024, 5:13 pm

Jaipur. Dalit woman Jelam Jatav and her family, living in Kumha village, 15 kilometers away from Bharatpur district headquarters, got justice after three and a half years. Special Judge Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Bharatpur, Girija Bhardwaj on March 16 sentenced Mukesh Jat to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband Dhanpal Jatav.

Along with punishing the accused for murder, the court also sentenced him to life imprisonment under section 307 (assault with intent to commit murder) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Advocate Devendra Pal Singh of the victim’s side told The Mooknayak that this is the first time that someone has been punished with life imprisonment under the relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. However, convicted Mukesh Jat reserves the right to appeal against this decision in the competent court.

Here the court ordered the Bharatpur District Magistrate to make arrangements for the monthly pension and dearness allowance to be given to the dependents of the deceased in the context of murder under Rule 12 (4) (7) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act) 1989. .

That’s why he murdered 

Dhanpal Jatav, a small farmer, was supporting his family by farming in his 7 biswa land. Subhash Jatav, son of the deceased, told The Mooknayak, “At 6 pm on November 3, 2020, the accused Mukesh son of Shibbo Jat came home and asked my father for water for his crop, but the father refused saying that there was less water in the tube well. Gave it. This enraged him. He attacked my father’s neck with a sickle (harvesting tool). Due to this, my father died on the spot.”  

Rajasthan. In Kumha of Bharatpur, a Dalit farmer was murdered for not providing water from this well. The Mooknayak

Subhash further said, “The accused also fatally attacked my mother Jelam and maternal uncle Kaptan Singh with the same tool. Both of them were admitted to the Government RBM (Rajbahadur Memorial) Hospital in Bharatpur in a critical condition. On one side of the house, there was the father’s dead body. On the other hand, mother and maternal uncle were fighting for their lives in the hospital. The accused ran away after the attack.” Subhash says, “Even before this, the accused had beaten his father over the issue of giving water to the fields.”

After the death of his father, the responsibility of the family fell on the shoulders of Subhash. He left studies and started working. Now he wakes up every morning and goes to Bharatpur city, 15 kilometers away from the village, to work as a stone-worker (building construction worker). From here the wage is Rs 450. With that amount, along with household expenses, the education expenses of younger siblings are also covered.  

Subhash said – “Mother takes care of the farming work. Wheat and mustard produce crops. There is less water in the tube well. It is very difficult to get work done on 7 Biswa land. The crop provides only 6 months of wheat and vegetables. It is possible.”

Subhash says, “He has received Rs 8 lakh 25 thousand in different installments as victim compensation in this case. This amount has helped him fight the case. Younger brother Himesh Jatav is studying in class 12th. Two sisters. Got married 6 months ago, but is still worried about the marriage of her two younger sisters. Both the sisters have graduated. Mother is worried about their marriage.”

On the court’s decision, he said that considering the brutality with which my father was murdered, the accused should have been given death sentence, but he is satisfied with the court’s decision. He has spent a lot of money fighting this case. The government had provided a lawyer. He had appointed his own separate lawyer to represent him. 

sentenced this

Advocate Devendra Pal Singh of the complainant’s side said that the accused has been sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 on charges of Section 302 murder. In case of non-payment of fine, additional simple imprisonment of 6 months. Life imprisonment for committing section 307 (assault with intent to commit murder). Under Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000. All original sentences will run concurrently. The period spent in judicial custody will be deducted from the original sentence. 

The court sent a copy of the decision to the District Legal Authority Bharatpur and recommended compensation amount to Majruban Jelam and Kaptan Singh under the provisions of Section 357A. District Magistrate Bharatpur ordered that under Rule 12 (4) (7) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 and serial number 46 of the attached schedule, the monthly pension to be given to the dependents of the deceased in connection with the murder should be Rs 5000. And compliance should be ensured with respect to dearness allowance.

Court’s comment regarding research

Commenting in the order, the court directed the DGP (Director General of Rajasthan Police) and Bharatpur District Magistrate to discharge their duties with full efficiency. The court said in the order that the research conducted by the research officer appears to be arbitrary on the basis of the available evidence. In which he did not collect the entire medical records of the so-called Majruban during the investigation and presented it along with the charge sheet. Presence of forensic team was also not ensured on the spot.

In the case of Section 302, such arbitrary research not only pollutes the research process but also raises questions on the research methodology. Therefore, under Order 35 Rule 6 of General Rules (Civil and Criminal) 2018, District Magistrate Bharatpur and Director General of Police Jaipur Rajasthan should be informed. So that this type of arbitrary research is discouraged under the rule of law and the duty is discharged with full efficiency.