Three men have been sentenced to death in India for the 1981 murder of 24 members of the Dalit ( previously untouchable ) community.
In Dehuli community in Uttar Pradesh’s northern state, the men were a part of a group of robbers who shot the victims, including children and women.
The killings fell under the “rarest of the uncommon,” according to the special court’s statement on Tuesday, which in India justifies the execution of the killers.
The gentlemen, who assert innocence, have the right to file an appeal against the statement in court.
The Dalit area, which is at the bottom of India’s strict caste hierarchy, was the only victim in particular.
The victims ‘ families are pleased with the sentence, but they contend that it should have been made sooner.
Justice arrived too late for us. Sanjay Chaudhry, whose aunt was killed in the shooting, claimed that the accused had lived their lives.
In the 44 years since the crime was committed, there have been 13 deaths among the 17 defendants in the case. There is one more accused, who is fleeing, besides the three people who have been sentenced to death.
On November 18, 1981, 17 men, most of whom were lower caste members, stormed Dehuli and began shooting at villagers in police uniforms.
According to the authorities complaint filed at the time, the crime came after a Dalit part of the pirates ‘ group was killed by his upper-caste colleagues. The crew members then attacked the town because they believed some Tribal villagers were giving the police information in the death case.
The victims of the murder have stunning memories of the time.
Harry Kumar, a witness who was then a teenager, recalls how “until the fire started” as” I was doing home chores.”
When I came out, he said,” I was hiding behind a stack of rice, and I saw that many people, including my family, were shot.”
Chameli Devi, Mr. Kumar’s family, was shot in the foot as she ran away from the gunfire.
She said,” They did not spare people, including women or children.” ” Whoever they found was murdered,” the saying goes.
According to press reports, the intruders fled the scene before the police arrived after the fire went on for more than four hours.
The regional administration sent police officers to the town, where they stayed for weeks in a bid to reassure the population, after the crime caused a Dalit emigration from Dehuli. Additionally, there was a political controversy when then-pm Indira Gandhi arrived in Dehuli to join the victims.
On the recommendation of the country’s great jury, the case was moved from a city judge to the Allahabad Sessions Court in 1984. Up until 2024, when the case was transferred to the particular court in Mainpuri, where the men were found guilty, the prosecution continued there.
It’s not unusual for courts in India to take decades to finish hearing a case and deliver a verdict, especially when the victims are from disadvantaged communities. In 2023, a 90-year-old man was sentenced for life in prison for a caste crime that also took place in 1981.
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