– Mohammed Atherulla Shariff
Koppal: A riot case convict in Marakumbi village of Karnataka’s Koppal district died of illness shortly after receiving life sentence along with 97 others for their roles in the communal violence that took place at Gangavati taluk in 2014. The district additional sessions court handed down the sentences on Thursday, marking a significant conclusion in one of most notorious communal violence cases in Karnataka.
The deceased, 44-year-old Ramappa Bhovi, was in Koppal district jail when he received the verdict. “Ramappa experienced chest pain after hearing the sentence and was taken to the district hospital, where he passed away,” said Gangavati rural police inspector Somashekara Juttal.
In Marakumbi, Dalits reside on one side of the main road, with upper-caste communities on the other. This division has become more pronounced since the judgment. For Dalits, the verdict brought a sense of long-sought justice, yet it has left both sides of the community wary about what lies ahead.
On October 24, the Koppal district sessions court sentenced 98 out of 101 defendants to life imprisonment for the August 29, 2014 incident, during which three houses belonging to Dalit families were set ablaze following an alleged assault on a member of the Bhovi community outside a cinema. During the riot, Dalits were forcibly dragged from their homes and assaulted, with over 30 individuals injured.
In court, details of the riot unfolded, as Dalit leader Pamanna from Gangavati recalled the night of August 28, 2014. Around 10 p.m., a mob of 80-100 upper-caste individuals attacked the Dalit colony, burning six houses and damaging three huts. Dalit residents were beaten with sticks, leaving 11 hospitalized. Long-standing discrimination against Dalits in Marakumbi – excluding them from local hotels and barbershops – had intensified over a dispute at a cinema ticket counter. For Pamanna, the verdict represents a victory in their prolonged fight for justice.
