LUCKNOW: In a turn of events in the Sonbhadra massacre case, a Uttar Pradesh court ordered the police to lodge an FIR against 85 people for allegedly attacking the kin of Umbha village head Yagya Dutt when they reached a disputed land.
The Station House Officer (SHO) of the Ghorawal police station confirmed that he had received the court order against 55 named, all Gond tribals of Umbha, and 30 unidentified accused in the case.
The police have arrested 63 persons and are on the lookout for nine others. The SHO said a court notice was recently issued to attach their properties.
On July 17, 10 residents, all belonging to Gond tribe, of Umbha village were allegedly massacred by the henchmen of Yagya Dutt when they had gone to take possession of a 90-bigha land bought by the village head.
On Wednesday, the court issued the directives while hearing a plea filed by a kin of the village head. Yagya Dutt along with his two brothers Nidhi and Dev are lodged in the Sonbhadra district jail.
In her plea to the court, the petitioner — Devkali — claimed that despite repeated complaints, the police did not lodge an FIR against the tribals who had attacked her family members, leaving them critically injured.
The complainant, in her plea, had also mentioned that a day before going to take possession of the plot, a meeting was held between her relatives and the tribals who were cultivating the land.