17 Indian officials convicted of raping villagers

NEW DELHI, India, Sept 30: Seventeen Indian police and forest officials have been convicted of gang raping a group of tribal villagers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in 1992.



Press Trust of India says another 100 officials were found guilty Thursday of brutally beating dozens of people from the village of dalits. Also known as untouchables, dalits are considered to be at the bottom of India´s caste system. [break]



The incident occurred as officials raided Vachathi village to search for smuggled sandalwood. The two-day raid ended with 18 women reportedly raped and 100 people badly beaten.



An Indian court will issue sentences next week, though some of the defendants have died in the time it took for the case to make its way through India´s notoriously slow judicial system.

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