M. Bala

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	8
Year Crime:	2007
Year Convicted:	2015
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	India
County or Region of Crime:	Tamil Nadu
City of Crime:	Devakottai
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"Eight Dalits, M. Bala, S. Kumar, V. Periyasamy, S. Jeyaraman, K. Palani, Senthil, Raja, and Viswanathan were codefendants wrongly convicted on September 30, 2015 of murder in the stabbing death of Veerappan, the leader of caste Hindus in Devakottai, Tamil Nadu, India on July 25, 2007. The prosecution of the eight defendants were based on the testimony by the victim's father and several witnesses. They were among as many as 11 people allegedly involved in the stabbing of the 30-year-old Veerappan when he was walking near Pitchai Chettiar’s house on Karuthavoorani Pillaiyar Temple Street. At the time there was a quarrel between a group of Dalits and Hindus over conducting Aadal Paadal (a late night dance performance) in front of Silambani Vinayagar Temple. The defense of the eight were they were not involved in the stabbing and had been misidentified. After their convictions by Judge S.Thangakani in the Sessions Court in Sivaganga, the eight were sentenced to life in prison. The eight appealed. In December 2016 the Madras High Court set-aside the convictions of the eight on the basis the prosecution's evidence was insufficient, because most of the witnesses in the case appeared to have been planted by the police and the truthfulness of the version of events by the father of the deceased was doubtful. The justices said about the father that his admission that he prepared the written complaint at his residence before approaching the police station only went to show that he would have named the eight defendants "out of his own imagination" without any evidence he was at the scene of his son's murder."
Conviction Caused By:	Police misconduct of fabricating evidence by witnesses and possible perjury by the victim's father.
Innocence Proved By:	"In December 2016 the Madras High Court set-aside the convictions of the eight on the basis the prosecution's evidence was insufficient, because most of the witnesses in the case appeared to have been planted by the police and the version of events by the father of the deceased was doubtful."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Indian
Information Source 1:	"HC acquits eight Dalits from charge of murdering caste Hindu leader, By Tamil Nadu, The Hindu, December 8, 2016"
Information Location 1:	http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/HC-acquits-eight-Dalits-from-charge-of-murdering-caste-Hindu-leader/article16774673.ece
Information Source 2:	"8 men get lifer in murder case, By UNI, WebIndia123, December 9, 2016"
Information Location 2:	http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20150930/2690632.html
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M. Bala

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

8

Year Crime:

2007

Year Convicted:

2015

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

India

County or Region of Crime:

Tamil Nadu

City of Crime:

Devakottai

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Police misconduct of fabricating evidence by witnesses and possible perjury by the victim's father.

Innocence Proved By:

"In December 2016 the Madras High Court set-aside the convictions of the eight on the basis the prosecution's evidence was insufficient, because most of the witnesses in the case appeared to have been planted by the police and the version of events by the father of the deceased was doubtful."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Indian

Information Source 1:

"HC acquits eight Dalits from charge of murdering caste Hindu leader, By Tamil Nadu, The Hindu, December 8, 2016"

Information Location 1:

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/HC-acquits-eight-Dalits-from-charge-of-murdering-caste-Hindu-leader/article16774673.ece

Information Source 2:

"8 men get lifer in murder case, By UNI, WebIndia123, December 9, 2016"

Information Location 2:

http://news.webindia123.com/news/articles/India/20150930/2690632.html

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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