Now, from a Rajasthan village, a familiar question: ‘If all acquitted, who killed 5 Dalits?’

In the aftermath of the 2015 violence in Dangawas village, Rajasthan, where five Dalits were killed, a Special SC/ST Court recently acquitted all 40 accused. Special Counsel Bhanwar Meghwanshi, who wrote a book on the incident, says that the court's statement, "Ghatna siddha hai, karta asiddha (The event is proven, the doer is not)," captures the tragedy of the episode.

According to the court, while the murders, injuries, and mass violence were proven, no one was identified as the killer. Govind Ram, whose family members were killed, laments that many gave statements, including himself, yet no culprit was found. The violence erupted over a roughly 23-bigha land plot allotted to Dalit Basta Ram by the Rajasthan government in 1961, which was mortgaged to Jat Chimnaram in 1964.

When Basta Ram, who later adopted Ratna, sought to retake possession, it led to the conflict. The Jat side claims that Basta sold the land to them, while the Dalit side disputes this sale deed. Despite the acquittal, the case has been challenged in court. Chaudhary, representing the 40 accused Jats, points out the heavy influence of Jat officials in the region and questions the prosecution's version of the incident, including discrepancies in witness statements and the number of attackers.