Closure at last: Verdict in Behmai massacre ends 43-year wait

The incident is infamous, as 20 members of the Thakur community were killed by ‘bandit queen’ Phoolan Devi and her gang on February 14, 1981. Following the horrific killings, the FIR named four persons, including Phoolan, and 35 persons were unnamed.

KANPUR: After 43 years, the anti-dacoity court on Wednesday gave the verdict in the 1981 Behmai massacre in Kanpur Dehat.

Munni Devi was 11 years old and was married to Lal Singh who was the youngest of 20 victims aged 13 years. She has been living for 43 years in Lal Singh’s house. (Sourced)

The court convicted one of the two accused facing trial and acquitted the other, said public prosecutor Raju Porwal. “Shyam Babu has been given life imprisonment, and the court acquitted Vishwanath, finding him a minor at the time the crime was committed,” he said.

The witnesses, including those who were injured, in their testimonies acknowledged that Phoolan Devi led the gang into the Behmai village, said Porwal. Phoolan, who later became an MP from Mirzapur on a Samajwadi Party ticket, was also killed in New Delhi in 2001.

In total, 17 accused died in the last 43 years — the last to have died was 85-year-old Posa, a feared dacoit of his time and accused in the case, who passed away. He had been lodged in the Kanpur Dehat district jail since 2016. Before Posa, another accused Ram Singh had also died in jail.

Only two jailed accused, Shyam Babu and Vishwanath, were appearing during the trial. Three other key accused in the case — Ram Ratan, Man Singh, and Ashok — have managed to escape the clutches of the law all these years. In 2009, Man Singh was spotted running a ‘dhaba’ in Kalpi (Bhognipur) but he disappeared before the police could catch him.

The complainant in the Behmai massacre, Raja Ram Singh, also passed away in 2021 during the second Covid-19 wave in the country.

Meanwhile, other dacoits like Ram Autar, Baba Mustaqeem, Lallu Baghel, Balwan, Lallu Yadav, Ram Shankar Jageshwar alias Jaggan, Balram, Moti, Vrindavan, Ram Prakash, Ram Pal, Prem Pahalwan, Nanda (alias Maya Mallah) either died during this trial or were killed in a police encounter.

The Behmai massacre was the oldest pending case in the district, according to legal experts. Raju Porwal, the district government counsel who took over the case in 2011, says, “I urged the court to begin the trial. Subsequently, the court separated the file of the five accused available at that time and began the trial. I believe the verdict may have brought some closure to the victims’ families.”

The charges were framed in 2012 against five accused and the trial formally began. Three of the accused died during the process, leaving Shyam Babu and Vishwanath to face the trial. The special judge anti-dacoity also levied a penalty of ₹50,000 on Shyam Babu failing he would serve additional six months of prison time.

However, the kin of those killed in the incident had long lost the hope for justice. They stopped attending the court proceedings a long time ago. Kalloo Singh, whose uncle was killed by the gang, said, “My father, Dashrath Singh, regularly attended the court proceedings till 1990. After his death, my mother, Hardeyi Devi, would go to court hearings. However, she too lost hope in 1996.

“I do not know how to react to this verdict; still I feel the justice was not given to us,” he said from Amrahat.

On the other hand, Girish Narayan Dubey, the defence lawyer, blamed the prosecution for prolonging the legal tussle. He said, “The charges could not be framed in this case for 32 years. The case remained a dud for three decades. While the defence never sought even one adjournment, the prosecution kept looking for deferment.”

Bulleted points

Phoolan Devi & gang allegedly shot 20 people, 17 Thakurs, dead in Behmai village on February 14, 1981.

Raja Ram Singh filed an FIR (26/81) against naming four persons, including Phoolan Devi and 36 were unnamed.

The charges in Behmai massacre were not framed for 32 years as rules required all the accused to be present in court at the time of framing of charges.

In 2012 charges were framed against five accused Posa, Bheeka, Ram Singh Shyam Babu, Viswanath alias Putani. Three of them died.

17 of the total 28 accused whose named came to light investigation died either in encounter with police or other causes.

Phoolan Devi was murdered in 2001 in New Delhi by Sher Singh Rana to avenge Behmai killings. Before that Mulayam Singh government has filed an application in anti facility court to withdraw the case against her. It was rejected.

Three key accused Maan Singh, Ashok and Ram Ratan, are still absconding. Their file has been separated and permanent non bailable warrant pending against them.

The complainant in this case Raja Ram Singh also died in 2021 during Covid’s second wave.