Visakhapatnam: A particular court docket in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam on Tuesday sentenced YSR Congress Celebration MLC Thota Trimurthulu and 9 others to imprisonment for 18 months for tonsuring two Dalit youths 28 years in the past, however hours later, the district court docket granted him bail.
Trimurthulu, who can be the YSRCP candidate for the Mandapeta Meeting seat in Konaseema district within the subsequent month’s polls, approached the district court docket after XI Further District and Session Courtroom-cum-special court docket for trial of circumstances underneath SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act pronounced its verdict within the sensational case of 1996.
The ruling social gathering chief stated he would problem the particular court docket’s verdict within the Excessive Courtroom.
The particular court docket imposed a high-quality of Rs 2.5 lakh on the primary accused Trimurthulu. The high-quality on others ranged from Rs 20,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.
The court docket additionally ordered a compensation of Rs.1.20 lakh to Koti Chinna Raju and Dandala Venkata Ratnam, who have been tonsured by Trimurthulu and others.
The case had created a sensation in 1996 and the victims and their households have been awaiting justice for over two and a half a long time.
On December 29, 1996, Trimurthulu, the then impartial MLA of Ramachandrapuram, had tonsured two Dalit children Koti Chinna Raju and Dandala Venkata Ratnam and beat up three others, Challapaudi Pattabhiramayya, Kanikella Ganapati, and Puvvala Venkata Ramana of Venkatayapalem in East Godavari district as they’d opposed him in Meeting elections.
The Dalit youth had labored for polling brokers of the Bahujan Samaj Celebration (BSP).
On a criticism by the 2 victims, a case was registered in 1997 at Draksharamam police station in East Godavari district.
Trimurthulu was later elected as MLA on the TDP ticket in 1999 and 2014. He later joined the YSR Congress.
The victims have welcomed the court docket order saying justice was lastly finished after 28 years. The response from Dalit teams and folks’s organisations was combined. Few of them stated the punishment awarded to convicts was not proportionate to the character of the crime dedicated by them.
Jahan Ara, counsel of the victims, stated the quantum of punishment awarded was disappointing.
The incident, which had occurred in Venkatayapalem village within the mixed East Godavari district, had triggered protests by Dalit teams and human rights organisations.
Trimurthulu was arrested together with different accused and was jailed for 87 days. The then TDP authorities had additionally constituted the Justice Puttaswamy Fee to probe the incident.
Primarily based on its report, a Authorities Order (GO) was issued, giving clear chit to Trimurthulu. The victims had challenged the GO within the Andhra Pradesh Excessive Courtroom, which had handed orders for questioning Trimurthulu.
In 2008, the investigation was re-opened within the case.
Senior lawyer and activist Bojja Tarakam had filed a petition within the Excessive Courtroom in 2015. The Excessive Courtroom directed the federal government to conduct an intensive investigation into the case and do justice to the victims.
On the instructions of the Excessive Courtroom, the particular court docket in Visakhapatnam started the trial in 2017. There was one other twist within the case when authorities refused to problem caste certificates to the victims, claiming that they weren’t Dalits however Christians.
After protests by Dalit and civil liberties teams and the course of the Supreme Courtroom, caste certificates have been issued to them in June 2019.
The case was adjourned for143 occasions.
There have been 24 witnesses within the case and 11 of them died on account of previous age or ill-health. Among the many victims, Puvvala Venkat Ramna handed away.
Following the court docket order, police stepped up the safety in Venkatayapalem and in addition at Draksharamam, which at the moment are in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.
