With only Rs 70 in hand and a desperate plea for justice, Ratan Navgire, 35, her two sisters, and two young children have walked over 150 km from Pune to Mumbai. Carrying posters detailing their plight, they started their journey on February 7 and arrived at Azad Maidan on February 13, seeking a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. But ten days later, they are still waiting for justice.
Their story is one of alleged caste-based violence and institutional neglect. Residents of Thergaon in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Ratan Navgire and her family belong to the Matang (Mang) community, a Dalit caste historically marginalised and subjected to discrimination. Their ordeal began two years ago when Ratan’s 14-year-old son, Karan, was allegedly brutally attacked by upper-caste persons in the neighbourhood for responding to casteist slurs.
Since then, they have been allegedly harassed every few days by upper-caste men who kept hurling caste-based insults, physically assaulting them, and making their lives unbearable, they say.
“My nephew was told, ‘Why do you show your face, you Mangis, so early in the morning?’” said Reshma Chauhan, 32, Ratan’s sister. “They pick fights for no reason, and now we fear for our lives.”
The family’s troubles only deepened when local authorities failed to act. Despite multiple complaints to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and the police, no FIR was filed. “Instead, our water connection was cut six months ago without any prior notice. Forced to fetch water from a public tank near Bapuji Bua Temple, we faced further humiliation—locals threw dead rats into our water pots to drive us away,” said Reshma.
Sonam Londhe, 23, Ratan’s youngest sister, said they had installed CCTV cameras to document the atrocities after two or three incidents of physical violence, including forced entry into their home. “Unfortunately, they came along with some strangers, covered the CCTV with a cloth, and removed the memory chip from the camera,” she said.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.