44 years on, 3 get death for killing 24 Dalits in UP village
“We will challenge the order,” says advocate representing the three convicts
LUCKNOW A special court in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday sentenced three men to death for the massacre of 24 Dalit people in 1981, bringing the curtain down on a grisly crime where a gang led by Thakur dacoits targeted villagers 44 years ago, on the suspicion that they were police informers.
Special judge Indira Singh convicted the trio, Kaptan Singh, 60, Rampal, 60, and Ram Sevak, 70, on March 11. The court pronounced the quantum of punishment on Tuesday. Apart from capital punishment, the court imposed a ₹50,000 fine on the convicts.
Ramsevak and Kaptan Singh were convicted under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 449 (house-trespass after entering someone’s house), and 450 (house-trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Rampal was convicted under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 216 A (harbouring criminals) of IPC.
“The court has awarded death sentences to Ramsewak, Kaptan Singh and Rampal. However, the case file will remain open as one convicted person Gyanchandra is still absconding,” said Rohit Shukla, who represented the state government in court.
“The incident was a gruesome killing of 24 persons. As it falls in the ‘rarest of rare’ category, capital punishment has been awarded (to three persons),” said additional district judge Indira Singh in an open court while passing the order.
“We moved towards open area outside village hearing gun shots and found all lost when we returned. Since then we have lived under fear for life but the judgment today has bought us justice,” said Amrit Lal, who said he lost at least a dozen family members in the attack.
Witnesses to the massacre said the sentencing capped off their long-drawn legal battle. “The court order is a reward for our continuous and long drawn fight in courts,” said Nirmala Devi, a resident of Dehuli village.
A gang of 17 dacoits led by Santosh Singh, alias Santosha, and Radhey Shyam, alias Radhey, dressed in khakis stormed Dehuli village on November 18, 1981.They targeted Dalit families, gunning down 24 people, including toddlers aged six months and two years, respectively.
The original FIR named 17 accused under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and 396 (dacoity with murder), among others offences of the IPC.
Out of 17 accused, 13 died during trial and one (Gyanchandra ‘Ginna’) is still absconding. The court declared him absconder on July 15, 2023 and issued a non-bailable warrant against him. In the long-drawn trial, the case was transferred to Mainpuri district court last year on the orders of the Allahabad high court.
“Trial began in Mainpuri court on May 13, 1982. After Firozabad district was created on February 5, 1989, Dehuli village became part of it. The case was transferred from Firozabad to special court (dacoity) in Allahabad in March 1983. However, on the application of the accused Ramsewak, the case was finally transferred to the district court of Mainpuri on October 19, 2024,” said Shukla.
The convicts said they’ll challenge the order. “We will challenge the order. After consulting family members (of convicts), a petition will be filed in the high court soon,” said advocate Manoj Dubey, who represented the three convicts.
The attack took place around 6pm and the dacoits unleashed a reign of terror for the next two-and-a-half hours in the village. Twenty-three people died on the spot in the firing. While one injured died during treatment in Firozabad hospital. The FIR was filed by Laik Singh, a local resident, on November 19, 1981.
During the trial, Laik Singh told the court that around a year before the incident, police arrested two members of the Santosh and Radhey Shyam gang from Dehuli village after an encounter. It was due to this reason that the gang had developed animosity against the villagers of Dehuli, said Laik Singh.
The incident shook the nation compelling the then prime minister Indira Gandhi to rush to the village to meet the families of the victims. The then leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, also undertook a padyatra from Dehuli to Sadupur in Firozabad in solidarity with the grieving families.The then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh VP Singh had offered to resign from the post following the incident.
The deceased included Jwala Prasad, Ram Prasad, Ramduleri, Shringarvati, Shanti, Rajendri, Rajesh, Ramsewak, Shiv Dayal, Munesh, Bharat Singh, Dataram, Asha Devi, Lalaram, Geetam, Manik Chandra, Bhure, Sheela, Mukesh, Dhandevi, Ganga Singh, Gajhadhar and Preetam Singh.
The November 1981 incident was followed by another attack on Dalits in nearby Sadhupur village on December 30, 1981. Ten people, including six women, were killed by men belonging to a gang led by dacoit Anar Singh Yadav.