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Journalism of Courage
Pune City police have booked nine persons, including the “Jaat Panchs (Caste leaders)” of the Shrigaud community for allegedly socially boycotting a man and his family from the community for the last 23 years because he got married to a woman from another caste.
Prakash Dangi (46), a resident of Fursungi, lodged the FIR in this case at the Bibwewadi police station on Monday. Police have booked the accused persons under sections of the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
As per the FIR, Dangi got married to a woman from another caste in 1998. Due to this, the “Jaat Panch” of his community allegedly imposed “Olaba”, which means social boycott, on him. Dangi stated that since then, for the last 23 years, he and his family had not been allowed to participate in various activities like festivals, gatherings and rituals arranged for the members of his community.
Dangi claimed that he sought the withdrawal of the ban multiple times but it was always rejected by the Jaat Panchayat, adding he was allegedly given “insulting treatment”. Following this, he approached community heads in Rajasthan who allegedly demanded a “fine” of Rs 1.25 lakh in lieu of letting him back into the community.
Dangi then sought help from activists of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), which has been fighting against social boycott incidents for the past several years. Dangi’s family along with MANS activists Nandini Jadhav and Milind Deshmukh took up the matter with the police following which an FIR was lodged. Police have initiated a probe into the case.
