Nashik: Nagpur came to a standstill on November 19 when more than 200,000 Dalits and their supporters converged in the ancient holy city in western India to demand justice for the deprived classes and stricter implementation of laws.
They submitted a 17-point memorandum to District Collector B Radhakrishnan to forward to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The primary demand was Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry in Talegaon (Anjineri) rape incident that led to riots in Nashik district for two days.
A large number of Muslims and Christians joined the demonstration titled ‘Bahujan Maha Morcha” (grand march of majority people) where Dalits carried the dark blue flag sporting Ashok Chakra and marched along with their children, young and old to raise their voice against injustice.
The came to Anant Kanhere Maidan (Golf Club) and started the silent march at 12:30pm to Gadkari Chowk, Shalimar, MG Road, Collector Office, Mela Stand and back to Maidan at 3:30 pm.
Despite several steps taken by the traffic police, the city came to a standstill at many junctions, reports The Times of India.
Many school students had to wait for buses as the state transport had suspended the services for nearly four hours, from 11:30am to 3:30pm. Even the buses coming from outside had a hard time entering the city.
The memorandum demanded better implementation existing laws to protect the deprived classes and justice to those exploited for ages. It also wants action against those accused of raping girls from tribal and other depressed communities.
The Maharashtra government on November 5 closed down a tribal boarding school at Khamgaon in Buldhana district and suspended all its teachers and other workers for their alleged involvement in the rape of minor tribal girls.
All its 400 students were then shifted to neighbouring government recognized boarding schools. Most students came from Vidarbha and Khandesh region.
A total of 15 people were arrested in the case. The accused include president, secretary, joint secretary, head master and staff of the school.
The case hit the headlines after a 10-year-old girl of fourth grader narrated her ordeal to her mother during vacation. The girl said that she was repeatedly raped by Ittusingh Pawar, the peon of the boarding school for the past two months.
Assistant commissioner of police (crime branch) Sachin Gore said, “Over 2 lakh (200,000) people from across the district and other parts of the state joined the morcha. Though traffic diversion was not announced, we took the necessary measures when the rush started increasing.”
Nilesh Magar, a sales executive who travels between Nashik Road and Gangapur Road, said, “It took me nearly two hours to reach office due to the mismanagement. I got stuck at Mumbai Naka, at Indiranagar underpass, Lekhanagar and finally found a way from Pathardi to reach Gangapur Road.”