As per the court decision, each convict now has to spend one more year in prison and pay Rs 25,000 more in addition to the punishment imposed by the district court. [break]
Damai, a resident of Dhanigaon in Toli VDC-2, was killed by the villagers after his son got into an inter-caste marriage with a so-called upper caste girl.
Dailekh District Court on June 12 last year had slapped life imprisonment on Bindakala Shahi, Jeevan Shahi and Krishna Bahadur Khatri while Tul Bahadur Chanda, Madan Shahi and Ganesh Singh were sentenced to five years in prison for abeting the murder.
Moreover, Subash KC and Dilli Prasad Khatri, both minors, were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The court also slapped 2.5 years imprisonment on Prem Bahadur Shahi, another minor, for involvement in the murder.
The appellate court took its decision after the defendants appealed, stating that the punishment was excessive for the crime.
Sete´s son Santu had married Raj Kumari Shahi of a so-called high caste family of the same locality. The girl´s infuriated relatives had attacked Sete on August 30, 2011and he died the next day while undergoing treatment at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Surkhet.
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