Solapur, Maharashtra:
The sessions court in Solapur on Friday awarded death sentence to five persons for murdering a family by torching a hut in February 2010 on the suspicion that members of the family were police informers.
The incident had taken place at Bhende Vasti village of Madha tehsil in Solapur district of Maharashtra.
Judge S A Awati awarded the capital punishment to Jumbar Bai Kale (50), Neta Bahru Kale (30), Jabbar Bhanu Shinde (46), Chandani Pawar (27) and Shivaji Alfuya Pawar (35).
Bakriya Pawar (20) was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
According to the prosecution, the accused as well as the victims belonged pardhi community. The accused believed that members of the family were police informers.
On February 14, 2010, the accused had set on fire the hut in which Manisha Sanjay Pawar (26), Neeta Raju Pawar (18), Mangesh (6), Swati Sanjay Pawar (3), Mahesh Sanjay Pawar (6 months), Raghu Pawar (18), Pirajit Shakula Pawar (9) and Suresh (50) were fast asleep.
Advocate Enayat Ali Shaikh was the prosecutor in the trial.