Thirty-five people accused in the Khairlanji Dalit massacre case, including the Andhalgaon police sub-inspector, Siddheshwar Bharne, were discharged by the designated Special Court in Bhandara on 22 February 2007 due to lack of evidence.

While discharging them, Special Judge AK Das said there was no need for them to come to court any more. Now only 11 accused, against whom the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a supplementary charge-sheet, would stand trial.

Four members of Bhotmange family — Surekha, her daughter Priyanka, sons Roshan and Sudhir — were brutally killed by a section of villagers, most of them upper caste Hindus, at Khairlanji in September last year. The state Criminal Investigation Department, the initial investigating agency, had arrested 46 persons in the case.

The incident sparked off violent protests in various parts of Maharashtra and the State Government finally handed over the probe to the CBI. While Bharne was charged of dereliction of duty, the remaining 34 – including village sarpanch Upas Rao Khandate and deputy sarpanch Urkunda Khurpe – had been charged with murder, criminal trespass, rioting and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. While pleading to discharge these 35 accused, the CBI had said they were found innocent in the investigation.

Earlier, Republican Party of India leader and Lok Sabha member Ramdas Athawale, the Khairlanji Action Committee and other Dalit organisations had criticised the CBI for giving a clean chit to the 35 accused. "We have demanded a transparent and impartial inquiry from the CBI. However, it was not reflected in its charge-sheet, filed before the court," Athawale had said. (Source: The Hindustan Times)