Nashik Honour Killing Case: Six handed death for butchering Dalit youths

A sessions court in Nashik on Saturday pronounced death sentence to six men accused in the 2013 Sonai (Ahmednagar District) honour killing case which had triggered outrage among the Dalits.

Six of the seven accused were convicted on various counts including murder and criminal conspiracy for killing three Dalit youths on January 1, 2013 in Sonai village of Ahmednagar district.

The killings, according to First Information Report (FIR), were a fallout of inter-caste love affair between one of the deceased and a Maratha girl.

The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on January 18.

The accused included the father Popat Darandale, elder brother Ganesh Darandale, and other relatives of the girl.

Police recovered bodies of the three youths, Sandeep Raju Thanwar (26), Sachin Sohanlal Gharu (22), and Rahul Kandare (20) – all from Mehter community, in pieces from a septic tank and a neighbouring dry well.