Agra: Over three decades after caste violence broke out in Panwari and nearby villages in Agra following controversy over a Dalit wedding procession, a local court on Friday sentenced 32 men to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in the case. Delivering the 97-page verdict, the special SC/ST court of Judge Pushkar Upadhyay also imposed a fine of ₹41,000 on each convict. Half of this amount will be given to the affected Dalit families as compensation.
The sentencing came three days after the court convicted 35 men and acquitted 15 others for lack of evidence. Of the original 72 accused, 22 died during the prolonged trial. While 32 convicts were taken into custody on Friday, non-bailable warrants were issued against the remaining three for not appearing in court.
The case, titled State vs Vipti Ram and others, relates to the violence that unfolded on June 21–22, 1990. The trigger was a Dalit groom riding a horse during his wedding procession in Panwari, which led to objections from a group of Jat men. An altercation followed, and the next day, both sides exchanged gunfire, resulting in the death of 50-year-old Soni Ram Jat. Several Dalit homes were torched in the aftermath.
By the afternoon of June 22, the violence had spread to Akola and other nearby villages, where more attacks on Dalits were reported. The sentencing pertains specifically to the Akola incident.
The violence prompted the heavy deployment of Provincial Armed Constabulary and police forces. A month-long curfew was imposed to bring the situation under control. Then-Congress leader and former PM Rajiv Gandhi, along with Sonia Gandhi, had visited Panwari village after the violence.
A case was registered at Kagarol police station by then-SHO Omveer Singh Rana. Charges were framed under IPC sections 148 (rioting with deadly weapons), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 144 (joining unlawful assembly with a weapon), 325 (causing grievous hurt), and sections 3/2/5 of the SC/ST Act.
Additional district govt counsel Hemant Dixit said, “At least 200–250 people were present at the spot in Akola. A total of 72 were named in the case, and 31 prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial.”
During Friday’s hearing, the defence side argued for leniency, stating that the convicted men are now aged between 80 and 85, come from agrarian backgrounds, and have no prior criminal record. BJP MLA Chaudhary Babu Lal and seven others were acquitted in 2022 after key witnesses turned hostile and the original case diary went missing.
Dixit countered the defence side’s arguments, saying, “All the accused were young at the time of the incident. The violence in Akola was so brutal that it led to a mass exodus of Dalit families. Therefore, we demanded maximum punishment.”
Meanwhile, sources said that the convicts plan to move the Allahabad high court against the verdict. ” No proper investigation was done after the incident. Things are peaceful now — the Dalit families who left have returned, built homes, and we live in harmony today,” an associate of one of the convicts said.
Courtesy : TOI
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