A court in India has sentenced three men to death for their involvement in the 1981 massacre of 24 people from the Dalit community, formerly referred to as the "untouchables." The accused were part of a bandit gang that attacked Dehuli village in Uttar Pradesh, gunning down victims, including women and children.
On Tuesday, the special court ruled that the murders fell into the "rarest of the rare" category, justifying the death penalty under Indian law. The convicted men, who maintain their innocence, have the right to appeal the sentence in a higher court.
The victims were all from the Dalit community, a marginalized group at the lowest rung of India’s rigid caste system. While relatives of the deceased have welcomed the ruling, they expressed frustration that justice took so long to be served. Sanjay Chaudhry, who lost his cousin in the attack, stated, “Justice came very late to us. The accused have lived their lives.”
The case, which spanned 44 years, has seen the deaths of 13 of the original 17 accused, with one remaining fugitive. The crime took place on November 18, 1981, when a group of 17 men—mostly from upper-caste backgrounds—disguised in police uniforms, stormed Dehuli and opened fire on villagers. The violence was reportedly sparked by the killing of a Dalit member of the bandit group by his upper-caste associates. In retaliation, the gang targeted the village, suspecting some Dalits of aiding police investigations into the murder.
Rakesh Kumar, a survivor who was a teenager at the time, recalled the horrors of that day. “I was doing household chores when suddenly the firing started. I hid behind a stack of paddy, and when I came out, I saw that many people, including my mother, were shot,” he said. His mother, Chameli Devi, 80, was injured by a bullet while trying to escape. "They did not spare anyone, including women or children," she said. "Whoever they found was killed."
The gunfire lasted for over four hours, and the attackers fled before police arrived. The massacre caused many Dalits to flee Dehuli, prompting local authorities to deploy police to restore order. The attack also led to significant political fallout, with then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visiting the village to meet the survivors.
In 1984, the case was transferred from a district court to the Allahabad Sessions Court, following orders from the state’s high court. Legal proceedings stretched intermittently over decades, and in 2024, the trial was moved to a special court in Mainpuri, where the verdict was finally delivered.
Long delays in the judicial process are common in India, particularly in cases involving disadvantaged communities. A similar delay was seen in 2023, when a 90-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for a caste-related crime dating back to 1981.
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Source; theghanareport
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