4 awarded life sentence for attempting to murder dalit advocate

MADURAI: The additional district sessions court on Wednesday sentenced four persons, including the present president of Ettimangalam village panchayat in Melur taluk in the Madurai district, to life imprisonment for attempting to murder advocate Suresh of Melur in 1991.
The additional district sessions judge R Shanmugasundaram found panchayat president Ashok Kumar, Chandrasekar, Mathi, Pandi and Sandhanam guilty in the case registered by the Melur police under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after accepting the arguments from the prosecution’s A Kalyanasundaram.
There was a dispute between the accused and the advocate belonging to the scheduled caste community over sharing of village revenue. It resulted in the attack on the advocate with deadly weapons.
The Melur police had booked six accused, including a juvenile, for attempt to murder under the IPC only in 1991 and laid charge report in 1992 without incorporating provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Moreover, the case was pending before the court till 1994.
Thereafter, the sessions court directed to re-investigate the case. After that, the accused were also booked under the provisions of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on which a final report was laid in 2004. Based on it, the trial took place for four years, said Kalyanasundaram.
One of the six accused, Asaithambi, had died during the pendency of trial.