Caste-based killings that rocked Uttar Pradesh in 1981
Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met affected families whereas Oppn leader AB Vajpayee undertook a padyatra from Dehuli to Sadupur in solidarity with grieving families
AGRA The massacre of 24 Dalits by a group of upper-caste gunmen in Dehuli village of UP’s Mainpuri district (now in Firozabad) on November 18, 1981, had rocked the entire country with the then chief minister VP Singh offering to resign amid the outcry against the caste-based violence and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi reaching out to the villagers shaken by the bloodbath.
The original FIR named 17 accused under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), and 396 (dacoity with murder), among other offences under the IPC. Of the total accused, 14 people died during the pendency of trial whereas one was declared an absconder. The FIR was filed by Laik Singh, a local resident, on November 19, 1981, and following a detailed investigation, the dacoits, including gang leaders Santosh and Radhey, were charge sheeted.
In response to the tragedy, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met the affected families whereas Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the leader in the opposition, undertook a padyatra from Dehuli to Sadupur in Firozabad, offering solidarity with the grieving families.
The incident shook the Congress regime in Uttar Pradesh while the Opposition got aggressive, raising a questions over security arrangements in UP. Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was stationed in the village for months as Dalits in the village felt insecure after the massacre.
Indira Gandhi ordered for improving infrastructure in Dihuli and the village was connected to electricity lines. A police outpost was also set up here on her directions. Prominent Dalit face of the Congress and former union defence minister Babu Jagjivan Ram also visited the village.
The November 1981 incident was followed by another attack on Dalits in nearby Sadhupur village on December 30, 1981. As many as 10 people, including six Schedule Caste women, were killed by men belonging to a gang led by dacoit Anar Singh Yadav.
After 44 years of the gruesome killings, the court of special judge (UP Dacoity) in Mainpuri on Tuesday awarded death sentence to three convicts in the case. Ramsewak, Kaptan Singh and Rampal will be hanged till death. The court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 each on all three.
Additional district judge Indira Singh had convicted them on March 11 and the court pronounced the quantum of punishment on Tuesday.
The trio was part of the Radhey Santosha gang, which shot dead the Dalit people. Thirteen accused, including Radhey Shyam aka Radhey and Santosh Singh aka Santosha, died and one was declared absconder. The remaining three were awarded death sentence.
On orders of Allahabad high court in 1984, the trial of the case was transferred and conducted in Allahabad and continued their till 2024. Thereafter, it was transferred to the Special Anti- Dacoity court in Mainpuri.
Dacoit Kunwar Pal, a Dalit, used to be in the same gang along with Santosh and Radhe Shyam from the upper caste. Pal was friends with an upper caste woman, and this was not liked by Santosh and Radhe. This is where the caste feud began. After this, Kunwar Pal was murdered under suspicious circumstances, due to which people of the Dalit community felt that he was murdered by Santosh and Radhe gang.
Subsequently, the police arrested two members of Santosh-Radhe gang and recovered a large cache of weapons. Santosh, Radhe and the other accused suspected that the people of Jatav caste of Dehuli were behind the arrest of these two members of their gang. When the cops presented three people of Jatav caste as witnesses in this incident, this suspicion deepened further. According to the police charge sheet, the Dehuli violence took place due to this rivalry.
Caste conflicts had become a defining aspect of that period, following which anti-dacoity courts were created in district courts. Not far away in the ravines of Chambal, groups and gangs rose out of the caste fault lines and Behmai massacre was another major incident. On February 14, 1981, 20 members of Thakur community were killed by bandit queen Phoolan Devi and her gang.
