Jaipur: Standing in front of the police tent outside his house in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district, Arjunram Meghwal appeared inconsolable. For the last 11 years, the sight of the tent and the police personnel standing guard before his house each day reminded him of his dead father, Ratnaram Meghwal, and four other deceased relatives.“I had hoped that those who murdered my father and other relatives would be punished. But today, after the court’s decision, I don’t know what to do. If nobody is guilty, then who killed my family? Did they die themselves?” Arjunram, a Dalit man who is a resident of Dangawas village in Nagaur district told The Wire on Wednesday (August 5).Hours earlier, the special court for SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act cases in Nagaur district’s Merta had acquitted all 40 accused against whom chargesheets were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the murder of Arjunram’s father Ratnaram along with his relatives Pancharam, Ganeshram, Ganpatram and Pokarram.“I saw them killing my family members. I was also injured in the attack, and yet they will now walk free,” said Arjunram, as he stood before the police tent, which was installed near his house to provide protection to his family after the massacre.Known as the Dangawas Dalit massacre, the attack on Arjunram’s family on May 14, 2015 over a 50-year-old land dispute and the subsequent death of five Dalit men had resulted in nationwide outrage, leading to the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan handing the investigation to the CBI.Apart from the five Dalit individuals, another person, identified as Rampal Goswami – not a Dalit person – had also died after sustaining bullet wounds during the confrontation in Dangawas on May 14.In a separate case, a counter FIR over the death of Goswami by bullet injuries was filed wherein members of the Meghwal community including Kishnaram – whose father Pancharam was one of the deceased Dalit persons in the massacre – were made the accused. In the counter FIR, it was alleged that the Dalit persons had opened fire which caused the death of Goswami.The court on Wednesday made it clear in its judgment that it was not determining who caused the death of Goswami and the counter FIR and the related CBI case will be disposed of independently on their own merits and will not be prejudicially affected by this decision.A 50-year-old land dispute leading to a massacreAs per the judgment, the CBI found during its investigation that the root cause of the dispute, which lead to the murders in 2015, was a 23-bigha piece of land, allotted by the Rajasthan government to Bastaram Meghwal – a Dalit man – in 1961.Later, the ownership of the land was transferred to Ratnaram, who was the adopted son of Bastaram. The CBI also found that in 1964, Bastaram mortgaged the land to Chimnaram Jat in exchange of Rs 1,500 on the condition that Jat would not get interest for the loaned amount and Bastaram would not get any share of the agricultural produce from the land.Subsequently, it is alleged that Ratnaram, with an intention of taking back possession of the land, had built a hut and a permanent room on the disputed land some time before the incident and started living there with his family.A panchayat was convened by villagers on May 10, 2015 over the issue which the complainants didn’t attend and then, on May 14 another panchayat was called, before the dispute spiralled into the massacre on the same day, says the judgement.In the FIR lodged after the incident, Arjunram – the complainant in the case – had said that around 200 people armed with sharp and blunt weapons had attacked his family.The FIR said that the accused had used tractors to demolish the constructions and shanties made by the Dalit family over the land and also allegedly attacked Arjunram and his family members including women, which led to the death of his father and four others.‘Heart-wrenching mass violence but perpetrator is disproven’In his judgment on Wednesday, special judge Ashish Bijarnia noted the heinous nature of the crime but said that the prosecution has failed to prove the involvement of the 40 men who were chargesheeted for the massacre.“The essence of the entire above discussion is that in the present case, the incident is proven, but the perpetrator is disproven. What occurred on 14.05.2015 on the disputed farm in village Dangawas was, on the records of this court, beyond any doubt, a heinous and heart-wrenching mass violence in which five persons lost their lives and many others were seriously injured,” said the court in its judgement.“This court has never, at any point, doubted this fact. What has not been proven is the connection, beyond any doubt, through admissible evidence, of any particular accused among these forty accused to that violence,” the judgment mentioned.Further, the court highlighted procedural lapses on part of the prosecution, which led to the acquittal of the 40 accused, who were predominantly from the Jat community.‘Failure not because of skill of defence, it arises from the prosecution’s own evidence’The court noted in its 245-page judgment written in Hindi that there is no doubt that the crime had taken place and also directed the state government to ensure that the victim families receive appropriate compensation under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995.“Although the accused are being acquitted, it is undeniably proven that five persons died and several others were seriously injured in the incident of 14.05.2015. An acquittal does not mean that the crime did not occur – it merely means that the perpetrators could not be ascertained by legal evidence,” said the court.“And this failure does not arise from the skill of the defence, it arises from the prosecution’s own evidence,” it added.What seems to have worked in favour of the accused is the prosecution’s inability to prove the exact sequence of events and the specific role that each of the accused played in the massacre.The court acquitted all 40 accused in the case of grave charges including that of murder and rioting while carrying deadly weapons, using criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty along with various offences under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.In his judgment, special judge Bijarnia noted that while one of the strongest charges of the prosecution was the accused using tractors to demolish the constructions made by the victim family over the disputed piece of land, the tractors found on the spot were not seized, identified or forensically examined.The court said in the judgment that no witness identified all 40 accused, several witnesses admitted knowing only a small fraction of the mob, no identification parade was held and three witnesses admitted the absence or false inclusion of certain accused persons.Also read: Why Should Readers Across the World Care About Dalit Literature?“In the present case, the basis for failure to convict is not the degree or extent of the offense – but rather the lack of any particular accused individual’s involvement in any act. Where it is not proven what each accused did, neither a more serious nor a lesser offense is established – because the same fundamental element, namely, individual involvement of each accused, is equally essential for both,” said the court in its judgment.The judgment says that the court is fully conscious of the fact that the case is of exceptional gravity, that five families lost loved ones, that the injured suffered unbearable pain, and that the matter has aroused widespread social concern.The court also mentioned that the acquittal of the guilty is as unjust as the punishment of the innocent.The judgment added that every aspect of the record was re-examined from every possible angle, and the strongest aspects of the prosecution case were faced but conviction can only be based on legal evidence.‘This shows how difficult it is for Dalits to get justice’Dalit rights activists have questioned the acquittal of the accused and slammed the prosecution for failing to secure conviction in the case.“Owing to the lacunae in the prosecution’s arguments, the victims of this horrific massacre couldn’t get justice despite the fact that the CBI had chargesheeted the accused after its investigation. It is a matter of grave concern. The message for Dalits is that all those who lost their lives as a result of the massacre were not killed but died on their own. Is it possible?” said activist Bhanwar Meghwanshi.Also read: ‘Are We Not Hindus?’: Rajasthan Dalit Priest Allegedly Assaulted Twice Within a Year, Had Sought Help From Mohan BhagwatMeghwanshi added that the fact that the accused who had remained in jail and were charged by the CBI of murder will now walk away after the acquittal highlights all that is lacking within the criminal justice system.“This shows how difficult it is for Dalits to get justice. This is eroding the trust in the justice system and the guarantee of justice that our constitution gives us. This is a failure of the state government and it should immediately challenge the trial court’s judgment in the Rajasthan high court,” he said.Opposition criticises BJP government in Rajasthan over verdictThe opposition Congress has criticised the BJP government in the state and accused it of not being on the side of justice.“The verdict in the Dangawas massacre case in Nagaur, delivered after 11 years, is deeply concerning. In 2015, six people, including five Dalits, were brutally murdered over a land dispute. Now, the SC/ST Special Court has acquitted all 40 accused, granting them the benefit of the doubt. The victims’ families have a legitimate question: if the 40 accused were acquitted, who killed these six people?,” senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot wrote on X on Thursday (August 6).Gehlot added that the lack of justice despite an 11-year-long legal battle, CBI investigation and trial point to serious flaws in the investigation and prosecution.“The occurrence of such an incident 11 years ago under the BJP government, and the subsequent adverse verdict now under the same government, demonstrates that the BJP is not on the side of justice. Accountability must be fixed for this injustice against the Dalit community,” said Gehlot.