56 convicted in AP Dalit massacre case

A local court on Tuesday convicted fifty-six people in the Tsundur Dalit massacre case of 1991. The court, however, acquitted 123 others.

Of the 56 persons who were convicted, 21 were found guilty under section 302 (murder) of Indian Penal Code. Eight Dalits were killed on August 6, 1991 due to caste enmity and eve-teasing in Tsundur village, about 20 km from Guntur district.

Frequent skirmishes and heated verbal exchanges between upper caste Reddys and Dalits culminated in the massacre.

The immediate provocation for the killing was the stabbing of four Reddys by Dalits.

The Reddys of Tsundur and neighbouring villages chased Dalits and axed eight of them to death. They then packed their bodies in gunny bags and threw them into an irrigation canal.

In retaliation, Dalits fatally attacked an elderly Reddy man in his house.

The Andhra Pradesh government established a Special Session Court under the SC and ST (Prevention and Atrocities) Act in 1993 to try the case.

Police registered 12 FIRs in the case, while 219 people were charge-sheeted. Thirty-three of them died during the trial. The prosecution examined 70 witnesses in the case.

Seven persons were dropped from the case as they could not be apprehended, and 179 accused stood trial.