Patna, April 17: Relatives of victims of the Bathani Tola massacre have threatened to move the Supreme Court against the verdict of Patna High Court, acquitting all 23 persons convicted by Ara civil court for carrying out the carnage.

Twenty-one Dalits, including women and children, were slaughtered allegedly by Ranvir Sena, a private militia of upper caste landlords, on July 11, 1996.

One of the eyewitnesses of the carnage, Naimuddin, told The Telegraph: “I still remember the day when I lost my family members. It was Thursday and around 2pm, a group of 50 Ranvir Sena members attacked our village (around 60 km from Ara town). They entered the village firing shot in the air and set afire the hutments.”

He added: “Seeing the flames, my friends and I asked our family members to take shelter in a house owned by a man named Marwari Choudhary. Soon, the Ranvir Sena men entered the house and killed all those taking shelter over there. I lost six of my family members, including elder sister, daughters and sons. I was hiding behind a broken wall near that house and somehow managed to escape the killings.”

Recalling the brutality of the killers, Naimuddin said: “Ranvir Sena marauders picked my three-month-old daughter Salama Khatun and threw her in the air. She fell on the floor and died on the spot. In another incident, they chopped the breasts of Lakhiya Devi (25) and amputated the legs of nine-month-old Kusum. They not only ruthlessly slaughtered the men but also the women and teenaged girls,” said Naimuddin.

Sharing his pain with The Telegraph, he added: “The upper caste landlords went on a carnage for more than three hours but the police remained mute spectators. Barki Khadav police camp was just 100 meter from the spot of killings, Chotki Khadav and Patalpur police camps were 1km from the site and Chavri police station was just 2km away, but no policeman turned up to stop the killings and arrest the marauders.”

Venting his anguish over the verdict of the high court, 50-year-old Naimuddin, who is working as a fourth-grade government employee, said: “We are not going to sit quiet. We will move the Supreme Court, as we have not got justice yet.”

Marwari Choudhary (50), who lost his wife, son and grandson in the massacre, also expressed disappointment over the verdict. “The dead bodies were found naked. I cannot that incident. My life shattered that day but the honourable court has failed to understand my pain. The judgment is not acceptable at all.”

Lalchand Choudhary (48), whose wife and son were killed in the massacre, said: “For the past 16 years, I have been waiting to get the justice. Yesterday’s verdict has left us disappointed. However, we will knock the door of the apex court for justice.”

Anand Vatsyayan, advocate for the witnesses in the massacre case, said: “The evidence presented in the court was more than enough to uphold the judgment of the Ara civil court. I am surprised with the verdict of the honourable court. The court has acquitted all 23 convicts but the big question still remains unanswered. What about the people who lost their kith and kin? They have not got the justice yet.”