Patna: The Bihar government will challenge a Patna High Court order setting aside the death sentence to three and life imprisonment to 20 others in the 1996 Bathani Tola carnage case, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Thursday.
"The government would approach the Supreme court soon challenging the high court`s order acquitting the 23 convicted in the infamous carnage case in Bathani Tola," Kumar told reporters here.
The HC had on Monday set aside the death sentence and life imprisonment.

The Bhojpur court had on May 3 last year convicted and sentenced three persons to death and 20 others to life imprisonment for the carnage in which 21 dalits were killed allegedly by activists of Ranvir Sena, a private `militia` of landlords, on July 11, 1996 at Bathani Tola in Bhojpur district. PTI