Almost 14 years ago, three young Dalit men were killed in alleged police firing in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district, in what remains one of the most sensitive and controversial cases of its kind in the state in recent years.Earlier this week, the father of one of the three men died on the railway tracks in Thangadh, allegedly by suicide, barely metres from a memorial erected to the memory of the youths – Mehul Rathod, Prakash Parmar, and Pankaj Sumra.Prakash Parmar’s father Babubhai had died of heart failure in 2015. After Pankaj Sumra’s father Amarshi Sumra died on Wednesday night, only one of the three grieving fathers now survives.Valji Rathod, the father of Mehul Rathod, told The Indian Express he believed it was the failure to get justice for their sons that had in some way led to the deaths of both Babubhai and Amarshi. Memorial meeting for Amarshi Sumra was held on 29 August.“We believe it is the delay in justice that finally took the life of Amarshi Sumra, just like it did of Babubhai Parmar a decade ago,” Valji Rathod said.Mehul Rathod, Prakash Parmar, and Pankaj Sumra were allegedly shot dead by police in two separate but related incidents on September 22 and 23, 2012, which followed a clash between Dalits and non-Dalits at a local fair.Prakash Parmar was 26 years old when he was killed. Mehul Rathod and Pankaj Sumra were only 17 and 16 respectively.Story continues below this ad“Amarshi Lakha Sumra, the 53-year-old father of Pankaj Sumra, died at 10.21 pm on August 26 after he was run over by the 12268 Hapa-Mumbai Central Duronto Express as the train crossed Thangadh,” ASI Jagdish Dhoraliya of Government Railway Police, Surendranagar, said.Police have registered an Accidental Death (AD) report. But the three Dalit families see a link between Amarshi’s death and those of his son and the two other youths in 2012.“No one can really comprehend a father’s grief over the loss of his son. These three men, Amarshibhai, Valjibhai, and Babubhai, went through pain that is hard to describe,” Vinu Bagda, Amarshi Sumra’s younger brother, said.“Two families have been completely destroyed. I am the only one (of the three fathers) left now. I have no support any more. Amarshibhai would constantly ask me to stay strong, but now he is gone himself,” Valji Rathod said.Story continues below this adVinu Bagda said Amarshi was dismayed at the way justice seemed to be denied to his son. “He would say that the case goes on and on without any conclusion… This time of the year is particularly hard for us because preparations have begun for the Tarnetar fair during which his son was killed,” Vinu said.Tarnetar is a traditional ‘matchmaking’ fair that is held in Thangadh around this time every year to celebrate the legend of Draupadi’s ‘swayamvar’ from the Mahabharata.“Amarshi had spoken with his daughter a couple of days ago, and she had told him she regretted no longer having a brother with whom she could celebrate Raksha Bandhan. This may have exacerbated his grief,” Vinu said. Amarshi Sumra (left) at the memorial for the youths. (Special Arrangement Photo)The two brothers had met four days before Amarshi died. “He told me that he no longer had the will to live. I told him that he should not think in this way, and tried to reassure him that ultimately justice would be done,” Vinu said.Story continues below this adThe body of Amarshi was found on the railway tracks close to the Buddh Vihar Smarak (memorial) built to commemorate the three young lives lost in the police firing.“Many people told us that Amarshibhai had gone to the memorial around 9.30 pm that day. We think he may have gone to the tracks shortly afterward,” Vinu said.A clash, firing, 3 deaths: What happened in Thangadh in 2012On September 22, 2012, an argument broke out between groups of young men of two communities during that year’s Tarnetar Mela organised by the local civic body. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then Chief Minister of Gujarat, was visiting the district at the time, and police moved quickly to break up the scuffle.They used tear gas and fired at the crowd. A bullet allegedly hit Pankaj Sumra in the back. He was taken to Surendranagar hospital and then to Rajkot civil hospital, where he was declared dead.Story continues below this adOn September 23, members of the Dalit community came out in protest, and the police allegedly fired again. This time Prakash Parmar and Mehul Rathod were killed. A fourth Dalit youth, 25-year-old Chana Vaniya, was injured.The inquiry that went nowhere, a case in which trial is hobblingIn 2012, the Gujarat government ordered an inquiry under Sanjay Prasad, then principal secretary in the Social Justice and Empowerment Department.Prasad submitted his report in May 2013. But its contents were never made public. This inquiry was not by a commission of inquiry, whose reports must be tabled in the Assembly.Story continues below this adTo questions asked by Congress MLAs Shailesh Parmar in 2016 and Gyasuddin Shaikh in 2017 in the state Assembly, then Chief Ministers Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupani said in written replies that the report was “under consideration of the state government”. Patel is now governor of Uttar Pradesh. Rupani was tragically killed in the Air India crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 last year.Lawyers connected with the case said 6-7 FIRs were registered in the Thangadh killings, three of which were filed by Dalits accusing four policemen of the murder of the three youths. The other FIRs were against Dalits.An investigation by the CID (Crime) found that police had used AK-47 assault rifles on the protesting Dalits. Following widespread protests and recommendations from cabinet members, the Rupani government in August 2016 set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by IPS officer Anupam Singh Gahlaut.The SIT filed a chargesheet in the case of Pankaj Sumra’s alleged murder, in which his mother Baluben was the complainant. The other two cases, involving the alleged killings of Prakash and Mehul, were closed.Story continues below this adThree of the four policemen accused in Pankaj’s killing are facing trial in the district court in Surendranagar. The case is at the stage of recording prosecution evidence.14 years and counting: Night without end for grieving Dalit families“It will be 14 years on September 23 this year,” Valji Rathod said. “The report of the Sanjay Prasad inquiry is still not public, and no accused has been arrested. How long must we wait for justice?”In protest, Valji fought the 2019 Lok Sabha election to the Gandhinagar seat as an Independent against Amit Shah, who would go on to become India’s Home Minister.Story continues below this adChandrika Rathod, Mehul’s mother, said: “In 2017 we approached the Gujarat High Court to seek the release of the Sanjay Prasad report. We have repeatedly protested in Delhi, Gandhinagar, and Thangadh, but the findings were not released. We have been writing petitions, but nobody is replying.”“The government says no incident took place. But our son was a living person and he died,” Chandrika said. “The trial in the case of Pankaj Sumra has been going on for the past five years. In the cases of my son Mehul and Prakash Parmar, no chargesheets were ever filed. The SIT apparently never found the bullets, but the bullets still went through my son and killed him.”Chandrika is an Anganwadi worker, and has been the sole breadwinner of the family since Valjibhai contracted silicosis from working in the ceramic sanitaryware factories, of which Thangadh is a hub.The death of Amarshi Sumra, Pankaj’s father, has left his mother Baluben alone in Thangadh. Pankaj had a sister, who is married in Rajkot.Prakash Parmar is survived by his wife Geeta and their son Harsh, who is now 18 years old, his mother Manju, and two older brothers.This year’s Tarnetar fair will be held from September 14-16.