The Capital News
Vijayawada: April 16: In a landmark judgment, a special court has delivered its verdict in a 28-year-old case of brutality against Dalits, sentencing YSRCP MLC Thota Thrimurthulu to 18 months in prison and a fine of Rs 2 lakh.
The case dates back to December 29, 1996 when Thrimurthulu and his supporters allegedly forcibly tonsured (shaved the heads) of two Dalit youths in Venkatayapalem village, East Godavari district. The victims, enduring the trauma inflicted by Thota Trimurthulu’s associates, continue to seek justice.
In a significant development earlier this year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court intervened, instructing the special court in Visakhapatnam handling SC/ST atrocities cases to expedite the trial. Criticising procedural delays, the High Court highlighted lapses such as the failure to procure caste certificates from the victims and record their statements, as required by legal statutes.
The charges against Thota Trimurthulu and others revolve around the forcible tonsuring of Koti Chinna Raju and Dandala Venkataratnam, both employed as daily-wage laborers in the state Electricity department during the incident. Motives for the attack reportedly trace back to animosities arising from the youths’ support for a BSP candidate in the 1994 elections, during which Trimurthulu contested as an independent candidate.
Initially spurred by pressure from Dalit organisations, the police registered the case, leading to the arrest of Trimurthulu and nine others. Subsequently, they were granted bail after detention at the central prison in Rajahmundry.
Trimurthulu, a prominent Kapu leader in the Ramachandrapuram Assembly segment, now confronts legal ramifications for his involvement in this enduring Dalit atrocity case, reflecting broader societal reckonings with historical injustices.”
After winning as an independent in 1994, Thota Thrimurthulu joined the TDP and won the election again in 1999. He later joined Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party but lost the election in 2009. He won an MLA seat in a by-election in 2012 as Congress party candidate. He then returned to the TDP in 2014 and won the election. In the 2019 elections, he contested on a TDP ticket but was defeated by YSRCP’s candidate. Subsequently, he joined the YSRCP and Chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy nominated him to the Legislative Council
