Dehuli Caste Violence: UP Court Awards Death Penalty To 3 Men For Killing 24 Dalits In 1981

The Mainpuri court awarded the capital punishment to Ramsevak, Kaptaan Singh, and Rampal, also imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them.

The court found the three accused guilty of killing of 24 Dalits in caste-based violence. 

Source : ABPLIVE AI

A court in Uttar Pradesh has sentenced three men to death for their involvement in the 1981 Dehuli massacre, where 24 Dalits were killed in a caste-based violence. 

A special dacoity court in Mainpuri district of Uttar Pradesh convicted three men of the Dehuli massacre. The verdict comes more than four decades after the crime, where 24 Dalits, including women and two children aged six months and two years, were murdered by a gang of dacoits.

The Mainpuri court awarded the capital punishment to Ramsevak, Kaptaan Singh, and Rampal, also imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them. The court found them guilty of the brutal killing of 24 Dalits in caste-based violence. 

The 1981 Dehuli Massacre

The massacre in Dehuli, which was in Mainpuri district and now in Firoabad, happened on 18 November 1981, when a wave of caste-based violence swept through the village leading to the brutal killing of 24 Dalits. 

Following the violence, an FIR was lodged at Jasarana police station by Layak Singh, naming 24 individuals as accused. The accused included Radhe Shyam alias Radhe, Santosh Chauhan alias Santosha, Ramsevak, Ravindra Singh, Rampal Singh, Vedram, Mitthu, Bhoopram, Manik Chandra, Latoori, Ram Singh, Chunnilal, Hori Lal, Sonpal, Layak Singh, Banwari, Jagdish, Revati Devi, Phool Devi, Kaptaan Singh, Kamruddin, Shyam Veer, Kunwar Pal, and Laxmi.

A Long Road to Justice

Initially, the case was tried in the Mainpuri district court, but due to the absence of a dedicated dacoity court in the region, it was transferred to Prayagraj for proceedings. 

After years of legal battles, the case was sent back to the Mainpuri special dacoity court around 15 years ago for final adjudication.

Though the FIR named 17 accused in the case, over the years, 13 of the 17 accused passed away. The court found the three remaining accused guilty and sentenced them to death.