101 accused given life imprisonment : Decision of the Koppal District Court

The matter of Karnataka communal riots of 2014

Koppal (Karnataka) – Koppal Principal District and Sessions Court convicted 101 people and gave them life imprisonment. This is the greatest collective sentence given in a SC/SC case. All of them were held guilty for the communal violence on 28th October 2014 at Marakumbi village in Gangawati Taluka. In it 117 Dalit people’s huts were torched. And 16 of the accused have died in the 10 year long litigation of this case. Justice Chandrashekhar has also imposed on every guilty person a fine of Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000.

The Dalits of Koppal were prevented from entering the haircutting salons and food stores. This started a brawl between two groups, which later took a violent turn. In the violence the Dalit huts were torched.

“Karnataka State Dalit Rights Group’ took out a morcha from Marakumbi to Bengaluru. The violence had caused severe tension in the area. The police had to patrol the area continuously for 3 months. All the accused responsible for the violence are in Bellary Jail.