The Vachathi case has gone down in history as a massive failure of the state. Nearly 300 uniformed forest officers and policemen raided the village under the pretext that the villagers were smuggling sandalwood and protecting Veerappan. They destroyed the village and raped 18 women — and today, the villagers want the government to correct its wrongs. They’ve spent the past 31 years fighting for justice. But while a historic judgment passed on 29 September 2023 upholds the guilty conviction of th