UP: 7 get life imprisonment for burning alive Dalit sisters in Moradabad

A special SC/ST court awarded life imprisonment to seven people for setting two sisters belonging to the Dalit community on fire in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad in 2010.

Moradabad (UP): A special SC/ST court on Monday awarded life imprisonment to seven people for setting two sisters belonging to the Dalit community on fire in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad in 2010.

The sisters were burnt alive in Kothiwal Nagar on December 18 by a mob protesting a double murder for which their brother was accused.

In a 26-page order, special SC/ST court judge Sandhya Choudhury found the seven accused guilty on the basis of evidence produced by Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Anand Pal Singh and charged them under the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act.

Sateesh Madan, Sagar Bhandula, Banti Malik, Asha Sachdeva, Amarjeet Kaur, Vinod Kajkad, and Sania Kohli were convicted by the court and a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each was imposed on them. They were sent to districts jail Moradabad, Singh said.

On the day of the incident, a mob gathered outside the house of Rajo and set it ablaze. While she escaped unhurt, her daughters Gita (22) and Monu (20) were burnt alive in the ensuing fire.

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Rajo's son Rakesh, who worked as a sweeper, was accused of murdering a 30-year-old woman and her eight-year-old daughter during a robbery on December 9, 2010. Subsequently, Rakesh and his brother Rajesh were arrested by police.

PTI