Tsundur massacre


The Tsundur massacre refers to the killing of several innocent Dalit people in the village of Tsundur, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India, on the 06 August, 1991. 13 Dalits were massacred by upper-caste men in the fields under their Reddy Caste dominated ruling government. When a young graduate dalit youth was beaten because he intentionally touched and misbehaved with a Reddy woman in the cinema hall, the dalits of the village supported him. As a result, Dalits were socially boycotted by the Reddy landowners of the village. Many dalits have lost their livelihood as they depend on the daily wages by working in the paddy fields of the Reddys. After all these dalits collectively fought to suffer Reddy by invoking SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989.
The killed Dalit youth were cremated in front of the Reddy household's for the benefits from SC/ST act in the village of Tsundur, Guntur District. One can see the cremated bodies even today also.

Justice

212 people were charged in a total of 12 separate cases regarding the incident. 33 defendants subsequently died and the Supreme Court of India then dismissed the charges citing lack of evidence. A Division Bench comprising Justices L. Narasimha Reddy and M.S. Jaiswal turned down the verdict of trial court saying the prosecution had failed to prove the exact time of death, place of occurrence and the identity of attackers.
Bojja Tharakam was senior public prosecutor Tsundur massacre case in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.