On Tuesday, 17 years after the Senari massacre in Bihar’s Jehanabad, 10 convict have been handed down capital punishment. Jehanabad Additional District and Session Judge Ranjit Kumar Singh slapped a Rs 1-lakh fine while pronouncing life imprisonment for three other convicts in the case. Two more convicts, Vyas Yadav and Ganauri Yadav, in the case are still absconding.

On March 1999, members of banned Maoist Coordination Committee (MCC) had killed 34 men from the Bhumihar community by slitting their throats near Thakurbari in Senari village. While 15 were convicted in the case on October 27, 23 people were acquitted because of lack of evidence. 

The state government has been asked to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family members of each of the victim. The court has directed the government to deposit the money with the district legal service authority so that it can make payments to the families after verifying their identity. The court has also observed that the state government failed to safeguard the right to life of those killed and injured during the massacre.

Here is how some of the local newspapers covered the development on their front pages:

Hindustan Daily

Prabhat Khabar

Dainik Jagran