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"As you are aware, attacks of this kind on Dalit communities in
India are frequent and those responsible are seldom prosecuted. We
urge you to send a team to investigate the incident as soon as
possible and ensure that a case is registered under the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and
those responsible for the attack arrested and charged."
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Sidney Jones Asia Director of Human Rights Watch |
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R. V. Pillai
Secretary General
National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhawan
Samsad Marg
New Delhi 110 001
By Fax: 91-11-3340016
Dear Secretary Pillai:
I am writing to alert you to the killings of at least eight and
perhaps as many as thirty or more low-caste villagers in Vempenta, a
village in Pamulapadu Mandal, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. The
incident took place in the early morning hours of July 16, 1998. To
our knowledge, no one has yet been arrested in connection with the
massacre.
Several hours before the killings began, a former village official
and member of the high caste community named Sivaiah was murdered in
his home, apparently by members of the People's War Group (PWG), a
radical Marxist-Leninist organization that has advocated the use of
violence to achieve land reform. According to a report prepared by a
local human rights organization that visited the site on July 20,
there were rivalries between the PWG and another leftist organization
to which Mr. Sivaiah belonged, which may have provided the motive for
the murder. As some members of the scheduled caste (Dalit or
"untouchable") Madriga community are believed to be sympathetic to
the PWG, the murder apparently provided the high caste landlord
community a pretext for attacking the Madriga colony in the village.
Between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. a mob rampaged through the colony
hacking to death at least eight people and throwing their bodies into
a house that was then set on fire. Some reports estimate the number
killed to be thirty or more. At least 100 houses were burned to the
ground. Most of those killed were Madrigas, although some also
belonged to the Dalit Mala community and some to a another low caste
community known as the Backward caste.
Local police did not appear on the scene for more than ten hours.
As all of the Madriga families had fled out of fear, the police
reportedly spoke only with members of the landlord community. The
police have filed some forty cases against Madrigas suspected in the
killing of Mr. Sivaiah. As of July 20, no charges had been filed
against any of the villagers who participated in the attack on the
Madriga colony. Madriga villagers interviewed by the human rights team
stated that many of their attackers were still present in the village
and appeared to have police protection.
The current tensions between the high-caste land holding villagers
and low caste villagers emerged two years ago when Madrigas staked a
claim to local temple lands that the high caste villagers had
arrogated to themselves and began to cultivate them. Human rights
activists who have investigated the incident believe that the land
dispute was the real reason for the massacre.
As you are aware, attacks of this kind on Dalit communities in
India are frequent and those responsible are seldom prosecuted. We
urge you to send a team to investigate the incident as soon as
possible and ensure that a case is registered under the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and
those responsible for the attack arrested and charged. The affected
community should be provided protection and compensation, as provided
under the law. The behavior of local police should also be
investigated, and any found to have conspired with the attackers or to
have failed to intervened promptly appropriately punished.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Sidney Jones
Asia Director of Human Rights Watch
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