A man named Kirti Gurjar has been sentenced to death in Dholpur, Rajasthan, for the killing of four Scheduled Caste laborers in 2008. Kirti Ram Gurjar was convicted by Special Judge of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) cases, Narendra Meena, and also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh. Three more accused in the case are currently in judicial custody and their trial is ongoing.
The incident occurred on July 9, 2008, when six men, including Gurjar, came to where the labourers were working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to build a road. Gurjar and the others opened indiscriminate firing at the workers, hurling casteist abuses, and killed four of them. The accused fled the scene immediately.
The complainant Jaipal Singh, who lost his father, uncles, and a brother in the attack, lodged an FIR against the accused. The court convicted Gurjar for the murders and sentenced him to death under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
This is the first death sentence given by a court in the district of Dholpur after its formation on April 15, 1982. The other accused, Suresh, Birma, and Bhagwan Singh, are in judicial custody in Dholpur Jail, and their trial is ongoing.
