After the Khairlanji Action Committee, now it is the turn of RPI leader Ramdas Athawale to blame the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for giving a clean chit to 35 accused in the Khairlanji Dalit massacre.

Athawale, who was in Nagpur to attend the felicitation programme of Bihar Governor RS Gavai, said they had demanded a transparent and impartial inquiry from the central investigation agency into the killings. But the charge-sheet was filed against only 11 accused persons, leaving the rest 35 free. "The only survivor of Bhotmange family, Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange had given a few names to the central agency. But the charge-sheet was not filed against them by the agency that has made us think over the CBI probe and its credentials," he rued.

Earlier, the Khairlanji Action Committee also took a strong exception to the CBI seeking discharge of 35 accused in the case. It also demanded that a fresh probe be done into the matter.

While expressing dissatisfaction over the CBI probe, Athawale thundered that he would raise the issue in Parliament in the next budget session. "In view of the present probing method, there is an urgent need to set up a separate system to handle the cases of atrocities on Dalits in the country," he insisted.

The controversy erupted when the CBI had pleaded at the trial court at Mohadi in Bhandara district recently to discharge 35 of the 46 accused in the Khairlanji killings due to lack of evidences. The state CID, the initial investigating agency, had arrested 46 persons in connection with the murder case. However, the case was later handed over to the CBI which found involvement of only 11 persons in the killings. These 35 persons, including the Khairlanji sarpanch Upasrao Khandate and his deputy Urkunda Khurpe are currently on bail while 11 are in judicial custody which was further extended till 22 February 2007 by the Mohadi court.

Four members of Bhotmange family — Surekha, her daughter Priyanka, sons Roshan and Sudhir — were brutally killed by a section of villagers, most of them from upper caste Hindus, at Khairlanji in September last year. The incident sparked violent protests in various parts of the State and the State Government finally handed over the probe to the CBI.

The Khairlanji Action Committee and some other Dalit organisations have even demanded a Norco analysis test of all the accused, police personnel and the medical officials involved in the case. (Source: The Hindustan Times)