‘We don’t have money but we have truth’: Dalit family’s 6-day march from Pune to Mumbai against caste atrocities

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.

Londhe recalled that the argument escalated when she confronted one of the neighbours about a sewage chamber encroaching on their property. “The Wakad police took me to the station and detained me for a night,” she said.

“Even though we are the second generation living here, we were asked to show ownership papers. Either it’s an attempt to cover up caste-based violence, or they instigated us with caste-based incidents to gain something from us,” added Londhe.

Last November, when the family was cooking outside, their harassers allegedly arrived with the police and started yelling. “They hit my daughter, Nutan, 10, and snatched her phone to erase the evidence we had recorded. Our mobile phone is still with them,” said Ratan.

Following this, Ratan said they went to the PCMC office to meet the commissioner but were unsuccessful. “Instead, we were directed to the Kalewadi police station, where officers detained us from 11 am to midnight and forced us to clean the floors before sending us away without filing our case,” Reshma alleged.

On February 5, after another failed attempt to lodge a police complaint, the family submitted a written complaint to the PCMC commissioner’s office the next day. With no options left, they decided to march to Mumbai for justice.

Walking from sunrise to sundown, the family rested wherever they could—school premises, roadside shelters, and temples. But even places of worship denied them entry. (Express Photo)

A journey of hardship

“As we started walking from the police station, they followed us, urging us not to take this step… Why didn’t they intervene two years ago when this all began?” Ratan asked.

Walking from sunrise to sundown, the family rested wherever they could—school premises, roadside shelters, and temples. But even places of worship denied them entry.

“We walked until we reached a village, looking for shelter in temples. Out of all, we were not allowed to rest in two,” Sonam recounted.

Recalling an incident of harassment during their journey, Reshma said, “One man tried to harass us while we were sleeping, so we called the police. After that, the police took us to Shedung toll plaza near Panvel for the night.” Despite exhaustion and fear, they pressed on.

When they finally reached Mankhurd, some officials took notice and arranged their transport to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. “We managed our meals during the journey by either selling flowers or asking for help from strangers. Even here in Mumbai, we are surviving by selling flower garlands,” Reshma said.

An unanswered plea

Ten days after reaching Mumbai, the family is still waiting for a response. They sleep at railway stations at night and spend their days protesting at Azad Maidan, holding up complaint boards for anyone who will listen.

“We walked here because our lives are in danger,” Ratan said. “If the government does not act, we have nowhere else to go. Our demand is simple: justice against those who attacked us and accountability from the institutions that have left us hopeless. If we were lying, we would never have taken such a huge risk to walk all the way here,” said Ratan.

Reacting to the incident, Sunny Dadar, district secretary of the Matang/Mang community, said he was aware of the series of events.

“Whatever has been happening to the family for the last two years is entirely the fault of the police administration. They could have filed the case and treated them with respect. The government claims to be committed to providing justice to women through schemes like Ladki Bahin Yojana, but what about Dalit women?” he asked. Dadar added that they have been waiting for justice for a long time.

Conflicting claims over police and civic actions

Responding to the floor cleaning incident, the Kalewadi police staff stated that it occurred when Ratan’s son mistakenly spilt some water on the floor and began cleaning it himself. However, Ratan and her sisters claimed that the police are now making up stories, insisting that two male police officials were present at the time.

When questioned about not filing the complaint, the police staff directed The Indian Express to speak with the assistant police inspector handling the case. In response, the API stated that he had no knowledge of the case and was unaware of the floor cleaning allegations.

Speaking about the demolition of the toilet and the disconnection of the water supply, Ombase Pramod, head of the Water Department at the PCMC, told The Indian Express that he received a report from his subordinate stating that the toilet was built illegally, following which action was taken.

“I don’t have much information about the issue on the ground, as the case is being handled by my subordinate, Assistant Commissioner of the G Ward. The PCMC commissioner also asked me to look into the matter, but the report states that the connection was unauthorised and that a toilet was built in a common area,” he said.

However, Ratan and her family alleged that they had shown legal documents proving the legitimacy of their home construction, after which a water department official regretted the action and assured them that the water connection would be restored. “If the connection was unauthorised, why was it provided in the first place?” asked Ratan.

Responding to this, Assistant Commissioner of G Ward Kishore Nanavare, stated that both the water connection and the toilet were found to be illegal. “The toilet was demolished based on findings of encroachment in a common area shared between them and the accused neighbours. The survey also found that the water connection was illegal and had been provided by a local corporator 25 years ago,” he said.

Ratan and her family said they would take the matter to court with all the valid documents they possess. They also stated that if the chief minister does not meet them, they will go to Delhi to request the prime minister’s intervention in their case.

“We do not have money, but we have truth,” said Reshma.