After a long wait of 43 years and death of majority of the accused in the shocking case of 1981 Dehuli massacre where a gang killed 24 Dalits, including women and two children, a special court in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district sentenced three persons to death.
The incident made shock waves in the country and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had met the affected families and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was the leader in the opposition had underatken a pad yatra from Dehuli to Sadupur in Firozabad, offering solidarity with the grieving families.
But the judgement on the case kept being postponed until 13 of the total 17 accused in the FIR of the case died and one remained untraced over the years and on March 18, 2025, the remaining three received death sentences.
What Did UP Court Grant?
Special judge Indira Singh on March 12 convicted the trio, namely, Kaptan Singh (60), Rampal (60) and Ram Sevak (70).
Government counsel Rohit Shukla told PTI that aside from the capital punishment, the court imposed a Rs 50,000 fine on the convicts.
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.
What Had Happened In 1981?
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.
According to PTI, the accused 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.
The Case History
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, reportedly.
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.
Reactions
The kin of one of the victims, Sanjay Chaudhry told BBC, "Justice came very late to us. The accused have lived their lives."
One of the survivors, Rakesh Kumar, who was a teenager back then shared his experience of that day. He told BBC, "I was doing household chores when suddenly the firing started."
"I was hiding behind a stack of paddy and when I came out, I saw that many people, including my mother, were shot," he added.
Another survivor stated, "Whoever they found was killed."
