Firozabad: 44 years after the Dihuli massacre in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, the judiciary finally pronounced its verdict on Tuesday. The special judge of the Mainpuri court on Tuesday convicted Captain Singh, Ram Pal and Ram Sewak and sentenced him to a fine of Rs 5-5 thousand. A fine of Rs 50,000 has been imposed. In 1982, a gang of bandits attacked a Dalit village and fired indiscriminately, killing 24 people. However, the turn in the story is that 13 of the 17 accused in the case have died.
Earlier on March 11, the special judge of the Mainpuri court convicted three accused in the Dihuli massacre case in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh. Additional Sessions Judge Indira Singh sentenced the accused to death at 3.30 pm on Tuesday. On 18 November 1981, 17 armed bandits fired indiscriminately in Dihuli village. In this attack, 23 people died on the spot while one person died during treatment.
After this incident, a case was registered on the basis of the complaint of local resident Laik Singh. Police investigation framed charges against 17 dacoits including gang leader Santosh Singh alias Santosha and Radheshyam alias Radhe. However, 13 accused died in the case, while one of the accused is still absconding. One of the three accused facing sentence is between 75 and 80 years old.
Banwari Lal, the main witness in the case, said that his father Jwala Prasad was shot and killed when he was digging the field to sow potatoes. He was also killed along with his elder brother Manish Kumar and Bhure Singh and cousin Mukesh. He said that most of the victims have left the village after the massacre. Now only three families live in the village.
After the massacre, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi met the victim’s families, while the Leader of the Opposition Atal Bihari Vajpayee had marched from Dihuli to Sadupur to express his condolences to the victim families. On the court’s decision, government lawyer Rohit Shukla said, “Four decades later the aggrieved families have got justice.” This is a historical decision that will give a message to the society that no criminal can escape the law. After this decision, the culprits now have the option to appeal in the High Court. The victim families have described the decision of the court as a victory of justice.
