Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu), Sep 29 (IANS) All 269 police, forest and revenue department personnel accused in the 1992 assault and rape of tribals in Vachathi in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district were convicted Thursday by the district court. The sentences will be pronounced later.
Seventeen of the accused were held guilty of rape of 18 women.
Dharmapuri Principal District Judge S. Kumaraguru pronounced all the accused guilty of the various charges charges they were slapped with for the infamous incident that had sent shockwaves across Tamil Nadu.
The prosecution case was that 155 forest personnel, 108 policemen and six revenue officials raided Vachathi village on June 20, 1992, in search of sandalwood allegedly hidden by villagers.
During the search, the villagers, including women, were dragged out of their places and over 100 of them were brutally assaulted. At least 18 of the women were raped.
Of the 269 accused, 54 have died during the proceedings.
Krishnagiri in Dharmapuri district is about 250 km from Chennai.
