In this Karnataka village, sense of justice, anxiety as 98 get life for attack on Dalit homes

In July 2015, just days before he was scheduled to give a statement before the court, the key witness in the case, Veeresh, was found dead. Police declared it a suicide.

While delivering the judgment, judge C Chandra Sekar had observed, “This matter appears to be a case of caste violence rather than an ordinary mob violence.”

The village, which has a population of 1,774, comprises Madigas (Dalits), Muslims, Scheduled Tribes and Lingayats. A local resident told The Indian Express that in nearly all upper caste households in the village, there is at least one man who was convicted in the 2014 case.

Despite the police stationed along the main road dividing the village, the Madigas quietly expressed their fear of a reprisal over the judgment. Pampathi, 48, from the Madiga community, says he is happy to be “finally getting justice”. Pampathi was working in a field owned by an upper caste family when his house was set on fire in 2014. “Thankfully, my wife and children were unharmed,” he says.

For two-three months after the incident, Pampathi and his family lived at the Ganji Kendra set up by the administration at a local government school for all the victims.

He admits that his happiness over the verdict is overshadowed by worries for his future. “I work in fields owned by the upper castes. It is my only source of livelihood. I don’t know for how long I will have this work. Since the verdict, the village seems divided once again. But what can we do? The law has taken its course,” he says.

Pampathi says untouchability is still prevalent in the area. “Madigas traditionally stitched slippers. Their (upper caste residents’) argument is that we don’t take slippers inside our house, so you too should stay away.”

Panduranga, the only postgraduate from the village who also holds a PhD, is a sociology lecturer. A member of the Madiga community, he says, “When I was studying, we (Madiga students) were made to sit separately. Things have changed, but not much. I still cannot enter the temples located on the other side (where the upper caste residents live) or get drinking water from their houses. Until a few years ago, I could not even visit hotels, tea stalls and barber shops run by other communities,” he says.

Stating that the village has a “history of atrocities”, Basavaraj, also from the Madiga community, alleges, “In 2003, Dalits were tied to poles and assaulted on the charges of stealing crops. Nothing happened to the accused in the case. After the 2014 incident, an FIR was filed. For three-four years, we were boycotted — not just here, but also by nearby villages. We had to travel 12 km to Gangavathi to get groceries.”

Talking about “compromise attempts”, Basavaraj says, “A few years after our boycott, they (upper castes residents) realised that it was not working. The Madigas were then allowed to buy groceries in the village. On February 12-13 this year, the upper caste residents organised and celebrated a temple fair in a Madiga area with us. Then, they asked us to withdraw the case. However, we insisted on the law taking its own course.”

Accusing a section of the media of portraying the recent verdict as a “harsh” punishment, Dalit Sangarsha Samiti (DSS) Koppal district president Manjunath Dhoddamani says, “We welcome the judgment. Though the verdict did not make national headlines, we hope it will serve as a warning to the upper caste residents to treat us as their equals.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the road in the village, shock and despair over the “unanticipated verdict” are writ large on the faces of the convicts’ families. Pointing to the crops ready for harvest, they said the men who were supposed to be working in the fields are now in prison.

On October 24, Ramanna Bhovi, 38, who was among those sentenced to life term, died of a heart attack hours after the verdict. Locals believe that Ramanna, who suffered from other ailments, could not bear the shock of the verdict since the accused had already spent 48 days in jail after the 2014 incident.

Of the five men convicted from 70-year-old Sanna Mudiyappa’s family, one died three months ago. Sanna says, “We did not follow the court proceedings closely. The lawyer too kept us in the dark. Many of us thought that the 48 days we spent in prison (in 2014) was all the punishment we would serve in the case.”

Lawyer Umesh Malekoppa, who represented the convicts, denied Sanna’s claims. “I am in touch with all the accused. We will challenge the verdict in the Karnataka High Court,” he adds.

Amaramma, the wife of convict Sangamesh, says, “On Monday (October 21), he left the house saying the case was closed and that he was going to sign something. Then, we heard about his imprisonment from the news. I don’t even know what jeevavadhi punishment (life imprisonment) is. My children have been asking about their father’s whereabouts, but I have no answer for them.”

Five men from Chennaveeraiah Swamy’s joint family were convicted in the case. Swamy, the sixth accused, died in 2016 due to age-related ailments. With all adult men from the family in custody, the women have been grieving since the verdict.

Rudramma, an Anganawadi worker, is worried since the arrests of her elder brother and son. “My niece’s marriage is coming up and we don’t know what to do since her father is in jail.”

Parvathi, wife of convict Nagashekaraiah, claims that her husband was not involved in the 2014 incident. She says, “After the riots (in 2014), the police took the voters’ list to single out men belonging to non-Madiga castes.”

Stating that she gave birth just six months ago, she wails, “He (Nagashekaraiah) left the house with the others saying the case was closed. Now they are telling me that he will never return home. If that is the case, please send me to jail so I can live with him there.”