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Maharashtra caste violence: Several who witnessed clashes at Bhima Koregaon among protesters

Maharashtra caste violence: Those participating in the protests claimed they were not led by any political party or leader.

Several who witnessed clashes at Bhima Koregaon among protesters Protesters at Chembur Junction on Tuesday. (Pradip Das)

SEVERAL protesters, who took to the streets here on Tuesday, had witnessed Monday’s clashes in Bhima Koregaon. They were among the more than three lakh people, mainly from the Dalit community, who had gathered on Monday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon.

“I was there in Bhima Koregaon on Monday. The attackers were only targeting vehicles with blue flags and people wearing white clothes. One attacker even told us to remove the blue flag on our vehicle. We removed it fearing they would attack us if we did not. Stones were pelted on members of the community, including children,” said Vijay Kharat, a resident of Siddharth Nagar, who had travelled to Bhima Koregaon along with relatives and friends on Monday. Many of them were present at the protest on the Eastern Express Highway near Chembur.

They said the protests were spontaneous across the state, fuelled by anger over the clashes and alleged inaction on the part of authorities. Those participating in the protests claimed they were not led by any political party or leader.
“Even those who were not at Bhima Koregaon saw what happened in videos on social media. It was not a clash between two communities, it was they who attacked us without any warning, without any provocation,” said Kailash Arode, who also participated in the protests in Chembur.

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A police officer said while they were aware of the protests being planned, the lack of any visible leaders made it difficult for them to establish a line of communication for negotiations. “Normally, we coordinate with leaders before a protest. The leaders who have considerable clout in their respective communities ensure things do not go out of hand. This time, however, the protesters were not led by any specific person making it difficult for us to predict what the protesters planned,” the officer said.

Satish Gazdhane, one of the protesters, said, “If you see, there are no political leaders involved in the protests. I had gone to Bhima Koregaon and was hurt by what happened. It is people like me and others who we shared our experience with who came forward and become part of the protests. It is a grassroots movement.”

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For many protesters, the anger was also over alleged police inaction. At Chembur Naka, where hundreds of protesters gathered, they forced police officials from taking out shields from the police van.

“Where were you and your shields when our community was being attacked on Monday?” protesters asked, forcing them to keep the shields back in the van.

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Praful Kamble, another protester, said: “My brother-in-law had to hide with his toddler son under a car to escape from being pelted by stones in Bhima Koregaon. They did not spare women or children. We did not want anyone to be inconvenienced by rasta roko or rail roko protests. But, how else will the government realise that these attacks on us need to stop?”

First uploaded on: 03-01-2018 at 01:45 IST
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