Patna, Aug 8 (IANS): The main accused in the massacre of 10 Dalits in Haibuspur in Bihar in 1997 was Friday arrested in Patna district, police said.
Sardar Lakshman Singh was arrested from his ancestral village Kab when he was on a visit, Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj said.
Police said Singh evaded arrest for 17 years as he had fled and spent most of the time outside Bihar after the massacre.
A total of 35 people have been arrested in the case.
According to the chargesheet, Lakshman Singh was a member of the outlawed Ranvir Sena, a private militia of upper castes that has been allegedly involved in several massacres.
The first information report said Ranvir Sena men surrounded Haibuspur village March 23, 1997 and shot dead 10 Scheduled Caste people.
The killers also wrote the name of their organisation on the wall of a well with the blood of the deceased.