Forty years on, 3 gets death for killing 24 Dalits in UP village
Mainpuri (UP), Mar 18 (PTI): A special court in UP's Mainpuri district on Tuesday sentenced three persons to death in the 1981 Dehuli massacre which saw 24 Dalits, including women and two children, being killed.
On March 12, special judge Indira Singh convicted the trio, namely, Kaptan Singh (60), Rampal (60) and Ram Sevak (70).
Aside from the capital punishment, the court imposed a Rs 50,000 fine on the convicts, government counsel Rohit Shukla told PTI.
A gang of 17 dacoits led by Santosh Singh alias Santosha and Radhey Shyam alias Radhey dressed in khakis stormed Dehuli at around 4.30 pm on November 18, 1981.
They targeted Dalit families, gunning down 24 people, including the 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.
Of the total accused, 14 persons 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 chargesheeted.
Shukla said he pleaded for capital punishment in view of the gruesome massacre and the case falling in the rarest of rare category.
He said the judge after considering the evidence and hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence at length passed the verdict.
Initially the trial of the case began in the court of special judge dacoity affected (DAA) area Mainpuri but was later transferred to a sessions court in Allahabad where the evidence of the witnesses was recorded.
In December 2024, the trial records were sent back from the Allahabad sessions court to special judge (DAA) Singh to decide the case, Shukla said.
During the trial, of the 17 undertrials, 13 accused including Santosh and Radhey died whereas one person remained untraced.
In response to the tragedy, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met the affected families whereas Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the leader in the opposition, undertook a pad yatra from Dihuli to Sadupur in Firozabad, offering solidarity with the grieving families.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
