‘Rarest of rare’: 3 sentenced to death for 1981 killing of 24 Dalits in UP’s Dehuli

In the last 44 years since the killings, 13 accused died, while one remains absconding.

On November 18, 1981, 17 men dressed in khakis stormed Dehuli village and gunned down 24 Dalits. The mass murder took place after four Dalit villagers testified in a court against the Radhey-Santosh gang, whose members were mostly from the upper caste. According to the prosecution, the killings were intended to intimidate the villagers.

“The court sentenced Ram Sevak, Kaptan Singh, and Rampal to death, terming their act as rarest of rare. The court also imposed a fine on each of the convicts,” said government counsel Rohit Shukla.

On March 11, the special court judge Indira Singh convicted the three men, following which Kaptan Singh, who was out on bail, was taken into custody.

While Ram Sevak was already in prison, the court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Rampal, who failed to appear. The NBW was issued after the court rejected Rampal’s request for exemption. He appeared before the court on Monday and was subsequently taken into custody.

The court held them guilty under various IPC sections, including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 216 (harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered), 449 (house-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with death) and 450 (house-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment for life).

Defence counsel Hirday Chaturvedi said his clients would file an appeal against the judgment in the Allahabad High Court.

The trial was shifted by the High Court to Mainpuri last year on a plea of the accused. At the time of the crime, Dehuli village was part of Mainpuri district. After the Firozabad district was created in 1989, the village came under its jurisdiction.

The Dehuli village killings were followed by another attack on Dalits at nearby Sadhupur village on December 30, 1981. Ten persons, including six women, belonging to the Schedule Castes, were massacred by men belonging to the gang led by dacoit Anar Singh Yadav.