A court in Hathras has found only one of the four accused in the Hathras brutalisation and death of a Dalit girl guilty and exonerated the others, who have been in jail since September 2020, ruling out rape and murder.

The SC/ST court handed life imprisonment to Sandeep Singh Thakur for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and violating the SC/ ST (Atrocities) Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him. However, Ravi Singh, Ramu Singh and Luvkush Singh were exonerated.

Mahipal Singh Nimhotra, a counsel for the girl’s family, said: “The court was not convinced that the victim was gang-raped and killed intentionally. We are going to appeal in the high court for a fresh hearing of the case.”

The CBI had submitted its first chargesheet in December 2020 mentioning that the teen had been gang-raped and murdered by the four upper caste men. The family of the girl had accused Uttar Pradesh police of forcibly cremating the body in an agricultural field against the wishes of her parents.

Seema Kushwaha, another counsel for the girl’s family, said: “We are not satisfied with the order of the SC/ST court as there is enough evidence to prove that all the four accused were involved in the crime. We will move the high court.”

“The government had announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a job for a member of the family, but the promises were not fulfilled. The family is still living in fear and has to be given security by the Central Reserve Police Force,” Kushwaha added. Karnataka BJP MLA’s son caught taking bribe; Lokayukta raids house, recovers Rs 6 crore The anti-corruption wing of Lokayukta on Friday raided the residence of BJP MLA Maadal Virupakshappa’s son Prashant Maadal and recovered Rs 6 crore in cash.

Earlier on March2, Karnataka Lokayukta officers caught Virupakshappa’s son while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh.

“The anti-corruption branch of Lokayukta yesterday caught Prashanth Maadal, son of BJP MLA Maadal Virupakshappa, while taking a bribe of Rs 40 lakh. Over Rs 1.7 crore in cash was recovered from his office,” the Karnataka Lokayukta said. The Lokayukta was on duty after getting a complaint about the demand for a bribe.According to the Lokayukta, more than Rs 1.7 crore in cash was found at Prashanth Madal’s office. Virupakshappa’s son Prashant is a chief accountant at Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board. Further investigation is under way, officials said.

Source: ANI