Patti Raju s/o Rangaiah, belonging to Mala (SC) from Teeparru village of Peravali mandal of West Godavari district was allegedly murdered by landlord Karutoori Subbarao, for whom he had been working for the past four years. Patti Raju had been working as a tenant servant to Karutoori Subbarao, from the Kamma caste, for the past four years. On 29.4.2000 Karutoori Subbarao went to Patti Raju’s house and asked his father, Rangaiah to come to his house immediately. Patti Rangaiah found Karutoori Narasimha Murthy at the house of Karutoori Subbarao.  Karutoori Narasaimha Murthy angrily addressed Rangaiah and said, “you.. son of a bitch… if we do anything, the entire Mala neighbourhood will attack our houses.   You don’t warn children to behave properly with us…” Raju, who runs a poultry farm, was also there at that time.  Karutoori Subarao and poultry farmer Raju then asked Patti Rangaiah and Patti Raju to come to the poultry farm.  The trio of Subba Rao, farmer Raju and Nalla Sathyanarayana, alias Boss, demanded that Patti Raju sign his name and Rangaiah to put his thumb impression on a piece of white paper.  When Rangaiah asked them why he should sign, they told him that this will keep his son in fear and there is nothing to worry.  Rangaiah put his thumb impression and Patti Raju put his signature on the piece of white paper. The dominant caste trio then asked Rangaiah to leave. 

Nalla Sathyanarayana came to Rangaiah’s house around 6:00 p.m. that day and told him that Karutoori Subbarao had asked him to immediately bring Rangaiah to the agriculture fields owned by Subbarao.  Rangaiah was then informed that his son had consumed pesticide but not to worry. Patti Raju was put into the taxi and taken to a doctor.  When Rangaiah asked the PMPdoctor why a dead body is being put into a taxi, the doctor told him that Raju was still alive.  When the taxi reached Tanuku, the driver stopped the taxi. When Rangaiah asked why Karutoori Subbarao, poultry farmer Raju and Nalla Sathyanarayana were not following them as they had said they would, the driver replied that he didn’t know anything about that. The driver shifted the dead body from the taxi onto the road after waiting for 1½ hours. Later, Nalla Sathyanarayana, poultry farmer Raju, Nalla Venkateswar Rao and Karutoori Gopalakrishna came to Tanuku at around 11:00 p.m. that night, saying that they would send another taxi from Tanuku to the hospital with Patti Raju.  Nalla Sathyanarayana stayed back with Rangaiah, took him to a nearby liquor shop and provided him with brandy.  Later, the body of Patti Raju was shifted to Teeparru by taxi. While Patti Raju’s relatives and family members were still crying, the landlords transported firewood to the cremation ground and pressurised the family members to shift the dead body to there. Rangaiah states that the ritual in their family is to bury whoever dies, but the landlords pressurised them and forced them to cremate the dead body immediately.  

Rangaiah said that he was threatened not to complain to the police about his son’s death and was given Rs. 15,000/- by the landlords. Rangaiah did not complain to the police, fearing that all the Kammas would unite and if complaint was given and take revenge against his family.  It was only after voluntary organisations and people’s organisations gave him courage, that Rangaiah met the Superintendent of Police at Eluru on 25.7.2000 and filed a complaint.   Complaints were given to all the officials on 19.7.2000.  Rangaiah states that after this, a landlord by name of Nalla Venkatrao physically assaulted his other son, Patti Sathyanarayana, saying, ‘.. your father took the Rs. 15,000/- so as to not file any case, but afterwards you filed a case…’   Rangaiah has requested officials to provide protection for his family. He stays outside the village for fear of an attack on him to force him to withdraw the case. The Police Sub-Inspector made an enquiry in the village and sent his report to the Superintendent of Police, W. Godavari.

Thalla Sathyanarayana, belonging to Mala (SC) community used to work as a tenant servant for Chikkam Sivaiah in Kamaraju peta village of Uppala guptham mandal. Chikkam Viswanatham, an adjacent land owner, gave a complaint to the police about the theft of his green-gram Dahl. The police took Thalla Sathyanarayana into custody on 17.6.2000. Thalla Sathyanarayana was found dead by 18.6.2000. Police said that Sathyanarayana consumed pesticide. Dalits say it was murder, and started a large scale agitation over this case. 

Two police head constables were suspended. The Government gave Rs. 100,000/- financial support to the family members of the deceased. 2 acres of land near S.Yanam and a house site were sanctioned by the Government to the family members of the deceased.

Behlol Nagar is a village situated in Hanuman Garh District. It is about 40 kilometers from the main city of Hanuman Garh. Bhagwanti was living in village Behlolpur in District Hanuman Garh along with her father Mani Ram Meghwal, mother Sunder Devi, Brother Madan Lal & Subhash.  About two years back from the date of FIR, Madan Lal elder brother of Bhagwanti met with an accident with electricity in the village and got injured. He was admitted in the Govt. Hospital Bikaner. While Mr. Mani Ram and his wife remained busy in the treatment of their son Madan at Bikaner Hospital, they sent Bhagwanti at her maternal uncle’s residence in Hanuman Garh Town. One day when Bhagwanti was on the way to bus stand near Chhabra Hospital Hanuman Garh just to convey some message to her parents through Bus Conductor, while returning back to railway crossing, she was approached by Rohtash & Krishan Godara.  Both of them were not known to her earlier. They tried to entice Bhagwanti to accompany them but she refused. On her refusal, both of the guys threatened her to sit on their scooter in between and took her to their house. Both the guys were carrying country made pistol and knives. This incident took place around 4:30 PM. Bhagwanti was kept confined in a room for about two hours and both of the guys went somewhere and when they returned back, they forced Bhagwanti to consume liquor.

Thereafter Rohtash stayed outside the room and Krishna Godara raped her and went out. Then Rohtash went inside and he also raped her. He let her in pains and injuries & confined her in the room for the whole night. Bhagwanti was very much scared, cried a lot but no one was there to help her. The very next day Bhagwanti was handed over to Shakti Punia, Suresh Advocate, Subhash Godara, Vinod Renwa, Rajesh Bissha & others; they all raped Bhagwanti at various places. Later on she was transferred to Ganga Nagar where Harphool, Sehdar, Suresh, Vijay all residents of Sadhuwali village raped her continuously for three days. Subsequently she was confined in the Kothi of an Advocate at Sadhuwali Road for about two months where she was subjected to rape by many people including Suresh Sehdar, Harphool, Vijay, Sanjay, Susheel, Dinesh Sharma, Soni, etc. She tried to escape but while coming to Hanuman Garh Junction, Bhagwanti was forced to get down at Pucca Saharana by one lady namely Ms. Vimla who was said to be supplying girls to influential people in the area. Ms. Vimla took Bhagwanti to her mother’s house at Pucca Saharana and next morning brought back Bhagwanti to the Kothi of the same Advocate. One Subhash Sibbu an associate of Vimla also joined in the racket and started supplying the poor and helpless girl to influential rich youths & other persons in the area. This illegal & anti-social activity continued for about one and half year in Hanuman Garh, Ganga Nagar & Brick kiln where too Bhagwanti was gang raped continuously for one month and got pregnant.

One day she escaped from Brick-Kiln site and came to Hanuman Garh by bus and with the help of a renowned social worker of that area, Master Jasvinder Singh, succeeded in lodging FIR No- 493/2001 on 18-10-2001 at Police Station Hanuman Garh town under sections 363, 376, 342, 323, 366, 120B of the I.P.C & Sections 3 (1)(xii) & 3 (2)(v) of the SC/ST (PoA) Act 1989. Bhagwanti had indicated in front of the Video Camera the names of more than 70 persons in the FIR, statement recorded under section 161 in front of the Video Camera. On April 18, 2007, punishment was announced to 20 accused with five imprisonments out of 22 people. 

Kambagiri, a Madiga (SC) student who had completed writing his final year examinations for law was murdered and was cremated within minutes. Factionists murdered final-year law student Kambagiri, who belongs to Madiga Dalit community.  His body was burnt to ashes within 10 minutes of his death. Nobody, including his mother and wife, came forward to give witness about the murder.

The victim’s wife states her husband committed suicide and that they cremated the body to avoid any police case.  The victim’s mother agonisingly told the 25-member fact-finding team that they are not ready to lose their remaining children.  ‘ …Sending him for higher studies was our mistake…,’ the victim’s mother lamented. These utterances silently tell the truth behind the death.  There was no proper investigation, no case and no enquiry so as to allow Kambagiri to get justice. Leaders of the Madiga Dandora from Kurnool have conveyed the same feelings as the fact-finding team, clearly stating that Kambagiri was murdered. Kambagiri (villagers call him ‘Prakash’) was born into a poor Madiga family, but completed his schooling and took a law course.  He completed that also and attended the final year examinations.  He was confident of passing the examinations and was yearning to reach a high position along with his people.  To achieve this, he had been taking up a number of small and big activities. Peddi Reddy and Chinna Reddy, both dominant caste Reddys, are two political faction leadersin that village. Both are close relatives of local MLA Mr. Parthasarathy Reddy. Madiga Dandora leaders from Kurnool say that the two Reddy men enjoy the MLA’s political patronage, so that without their permission nothing will be allowed to happen in the area.  

In these circumstances, Kambagiri formed the Ambedkar Savings Groups without their permission. He played a key role in formation of the Village Unity Committee, in which other poor communities also participated, besides Dalits.  He became the Mandal President of Dandora for the Madiga Dandora movement, and took an active role in all activities and ensured local youth participation in the movement. Several people say that the local MLA threatened Kambagiri and other Dalit youth to resign from the Madiga Dandora or face serious consequences.  In spite of these pressures, Kambagiri continued his activities. He conducted a meeting of the Village Unity Committee in March 1999, at which 816 people participated.   He was in the process of forming a committee at the mandal level. On 19.3.1999, eight days after the Village Unity Committee meeting, MLA followers Boya Ramulu (village servant), Boya Narsimhulu and Boya Papadu attacked Dalits who were beating their drums for the festival of Ugadi. All the Dalits were abused, ‘..You sons of Madigas … do you need a committee…’  Kamagiri played a lead role in filing a case over this incident and Crime No. 14/99 was registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.  This was the first case in the village to be filed without the permission of the Reddys.  The Boyas, who manage work in the quarries belonging to the Reddys, did not allow the Dalits to work in the quarries as a result.  The Reddys also put tremendous pressure on the Dalits to withdraw the case.  Some Dalits withdrew from the case out of fear and 20 Dalits left the village. Madiga leaders say that 10 people later returned to village with the permission of the MLA.

District MRPS leader Somasundaram states that Kambagiri used to share these matters with him regularly.  He informed the fact-finding team that Kambagiri met him at court just a week before his murder and told him about the severe threats being issued by the Reddys. Somasundaram says that he suggested that Kambagiri shift to Kurnool, but he replied that these are common in faction villages and that only if it further became serious then he would come to Kurnool.  Earlier, five months before the killing, the Boyas had attempted to kill Kambagiri and he had given a complaint regarding this at Avuku police station.  MRPS leaders say that an attempt was also made to kill Kambagiri when he went to Anantapur to write his law final year examinations. Finally, on 24.5.2000, the day before the hearing of the case booked as Crime No. 14/99, Boya Narasimhulu and Boya Papadu came to the house where Kambagiri was reading a book and informed him that a Reddy was calling him.  They took him to irrigation well and there beat him to death.  The leaders say that his dead body was brought to his house and hanged with a plastic rope to a 3-inch hook which is meant for hanging clothes.  The dominant castes then forced all the villagers to say that it was suicide. The concerned Reddy instructed them to cremate the body and he himself provided the kerosene and firewood.  Everything was finished and Kambagiri’s wife and mother were left silently crying. 

Nukathoti Nageswar Rao was taken into police custody following a dispute with his wife, in which he assaulted her with a knife. At the police station he was tortured to death and his body then left 50 m from the police station.

Nukathoti Nageswar Rao was an agricultural labourer who used to go for wage work in a tobacco company, along with his wife and three children. While returning from the tobacco company on 19.4.2000, he and his wife had a quarrel and he stabbed his wife with a knife.  Police took him to the police station on 19.4.2000, based on the complaint of his wife. His relatives, who went to the police station on the same night at around 7:00 p.m., came to know that police had severely beaten up Nageswar Rao, pressurising him to agree not to talk in an old political murder in which he was prime witness. Sub-Inspector Sreeram was torturing Nageswar Rao as he was not agreeing to this. Nageswar Rao was kept in police custody on 20.4.2000 as well without filing any case and again tortured. On the night of 21.4.2000 Nageswar Rao’s dead body was seen on the road about 50 feet from the police station. 

Police say that Nageswar Rao died when an unidentified vehicle crashed into him while he was escaping while being shifted from the old police station to a new police station. Police say that they were informed by the owner of the hotel, which is opposite to where the dead body was found. It is clear from the wounds on the deceased body and from other evidence that Nageswar Rao died because of injuries from police lathis. The post-mortem was conducted at Guntur hospital because of the involvement of people’s organisations.  Even when the dead body was still in the hospital, political leaders pressurised the brother and mother of the deceased with several offers and did not allow them to meet the people’s organisations.