Karamchedu massacre refers to an incident that occurred in Karamchedu, Andhra Pradesh on 17 July 1985, where a conflict between Dalits and Kammas resulted in the killing of six Dalits and grievous injuries to 20 more. After a long legal battle that went up to the Supreme Court, one person was given life imprisonment and 30 more were sentenced to a prison term of three years. The initial main accused, Daggubati Chenchu Ramaiah, father of then-MLA of Parchur, Daggubati Venkateswara Rao was assassinated by Naxalites in 1989 in retaliation.
History
Some landlords in that area raised cotton, tobacco and other cash crops with traditional crops to become rich in the area. They grew strong in different industries. The village landlord, Daggubati Chenchuramaiah, was a very close relative of TDP founder N. T. Rama Rao. His son, Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, was married to NTR's daughter. Malas, Madigas, and Yerukulas were living side by side in Karamchedu. After NTR had formed the Telugu Desam Party, almost all castes joined it. Many dalits choose to remain in the Congress Party, but most Madigas decided to support the TDP as there was an Arch rivalry between Malas and Madigas. NTR's son-in-law and Chenchuramaiah's son Daggubati Venkateswara Rao contested as an MLA and got hold of power.
The fight: 17 July 1985
Potina Seenu and Rayineedu Prasad, took their buffaloes to the drinking water tank in Madigapalle. They fed the buffaloes with washings of rice in buckets. While they were washing the buckets in the tank, Katti Chandraiah, a Dalit boy, objected to it. They were scolding Chandraiah when Munnangi Suvaartha, a Madiga woman, came to the tank to collect water. She attacked the boys who were washing the buckets. A few local landlords were outraged, and retaliated by doing an attack on the Madigas. Duddu Moshe, Duddu Ramesh, Tella Yehoshua, Tella Moshe, Tella Muthaiah and Duddu Abraham were killed eventually. Six Dalits were killed by the landlords' attack.
Aftermath
Subsequent to the massacre, the People's War Group brutally murdered the key accused Daggubati Chenchu Ramaiah, father of Venkateswara Rao. The agitations of Dalits under the banner of Dalitha Mahasabha led by Katti Padma Rao, a radical dalit writer, made the government accept all their demands, including naming of about 150 people accused in the case. The government announced a special package for the victims. The government provided jobs to all the family members of the victims in addition to granting agriculture land, industries, and loans. The separate Vijayanagar Colony was constructed to cool the frayed tempers of Dalits. NTR government ultimately lost power in the 1989 elections. Bojja Tharakam — a well-known poet, writer, social and political activist, and a senior human rights advocate — resigned from the High Court as a sign of protest in 1984 against the Karamchedu massacre.
Court trial
The trial court in Ongole convicted 159 people to life imprisonment, which was later struck down by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Though a special leave petition was filed in the Supreme Court on 24 October 1998, it was on 19 December 2008 — 10 years later — that a bench of the apex court, consisting of Justice B N Agarwal and Justice G S Singhvi, upheld the conviction of the trial court. However, it sentenced the main accused, Anjaiah, to life term and 29 others to three years of jail in the case. Justice M N Rao appeared on behalf of the state of Andhra Pradesh at the proceedings. In 1994, the additional sessions judge, Guntur, had given life sentences to five accused and three years' imprisonment for several others. However, a division bench of the AP High Courtset aside the conviction on 24 July 1998 and acquitted the accused. There are two cases with identical charges of conspiracy, rioting, and murder against them. The police had 94 people as the accused in their case for trial; in the other case, by the Dalits, another 70 have been named. After examining 90 witnesses from among the Dalits, the third Additional Munsif Magistrate, Chirala, M. Ramadas felt there was a prima facie case against 140 out of the 164 accused. Of them, 49 were charged with murder, and the others with rioting and unlawful assembly.
