Sentence in Bhagalpur riot case deferred

BHAGALPUR: The sentencing of 14 persons convicted in the 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots was on Wednesday deferred till July seven.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Shambhunath Mishra postponed the pronouncement of punishment as one of the convicts Jaiprakash Mandal continues to remain absconding. The judge directed the police to produce the absconder on July seven so that the quantum of sentence to all the convicts could be announced together.

The 14 accused were on June 18 found guilty of slaughtering 116 persons belonging to the minority community at Logain village on October 27, 1989.

The judgement as passed against one of the accused-- Jaiprakash Mandal-- in absentia as he had not turned up, prompting the judge to issue a warrant of arrest against him.

Jaiprakash Mandal's brother Prabhas Mandal was among those convicted, while their father Kamaleshwari Mandal, also an accused, had died during the trial.

The 13 convicts were brought to the court from jail for sentence.

Those convicted in the case are: Ramchandra singh, the then officer in-charge of Jagdishpur Police Station, Chowkidar Thakur Pasan, Kuldip Mandal, Arjun Mandal, Prabhas Mandal, Sukhdev Mandal, Subhash Mandal, Ajablal Mandal, Shivlal Mandal, Naresh Mandal, Jattu Mandal, Ramdev Mandal, Saryu Prasad Singh and Jaiprakash Mandal.

Though there were 24 named accused in the case, six died during the course of the trial, while four never turned up.