Pune Police’s inaction in the case has sparked statewide protests.
While survivors cope with trauma, process becomes punishment.
Dalit women are determined to keep fighting for justice.
A week has passed since the alleged harassment and abuse inflicted on three Dalit women in Pune. There have been several protests in the city that are now turning into statewide agitations. The police say ‘no’ to registering an FIR.
Three women survivors, who claim they faced casteist slurs, queerphobic comments, violation of their privacy and physical abuse in police custody have been protesting against Pune Police. The reason is police inaction and refusal to file an FIR based on their complaint. These women are now getting wide support from the public, including civil society groups, social workers, NGOs and women’s collectives.
The legislator from Karjat-Jamkhed, Rohit Pawar, Sujat Ambedkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi and Anjali Maydeo Ambedkar were a few among the supporters of the three protesting women.
On August 1, Pune Police allegedly took three young women into illegal custody. According to the women, the police raided their homes, hurled casteist slurs, made derogatory comments about their sexuality and physically assaulted them.
The police were allegedly probing a missing person case. A young married woman from Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad) who had fled her in-laws’ home due to alleged domestic abuse was sheltered for a night by the three women at their Pune home. The escaped woman’s father-in-law, Sakharam Sanap, filed a missing person complaint to find her.
Sanap, a former police inspector, is being accused of having misused his power and connections to influence Pune Police. It is said that he asked the force to help him trace his daughter-in-law by using her [mobile phone] location without a legal mandate. Pune Police allegedly traced her location, which led them to the private residence of the three Dalit women.
On August 1, Kothrud Police barged into their home, allegedly without a warrant. According to the women, they were beaten up and faced casteist slurs. Then one of them was detained from her workplace, a school in Pune, and the others were also illegally taken into custody. The women were allegedly kept at a nursing station in Kothrud Police Station, where there were no CCTV cameras. They say they were physically and verbally abused there. Their mobile phones were reportedly seized by the police. As soon as the survivors could reach out to their friends, they sought to be ‘rescued’.
Shweta Patil, writer and activist, and lawyer Parikrama Khot went to the Kothrund station at midnight on August 1, and requested the police to file an FIR against its officers who allegedly abused the three women. Several Pune residents joined in support of the women, and demanded an FIR be registered.
However, no FIR has been registered yet. The police claim that based on a preliminary inquiry there is no evidence to support the allegations made by the women.
“We had a very basic demand that an FIR needs to be filed against those police [officers] who abused the Dalit women, who are our friends," Shweta Patil told Outlook. She said the police officers at the thana kept them waiting for hours at on August 2 and also the next day. "Later, we went to the police commissioner’s office and continued our protest, but in vain. After three days, the police gave a letter stating it can’t file an FIR based on a 'preliminary investigation',” Patil said.
She also asked: ‘Is filing an FIR, seeking justice, not our fundamental constitutional right? Is it too much to ask?’
Outlook reached out to Kothrud Police, asking if it had followed the Standar Operating Procedures (SOP) mandated for police when probing cases related to missing persons. But the police refused comment.
The case has stirred public outrage across Maharashtra, and agitated discussions on social media and in local news channels. It has also taken a political turn. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supporters are targeting Shweta Patil and Parikrama Khot, the activists raising the womens' concerns. Both are being trolled and abused on social media. Some have demanded that the police investigate their alleged connections with so-called ‘urban naxals’. An individual named Tushar Damgude has submitted such a demand letter to Amitesh Kumar, Pune Police Commissioner. He has also extended his 'support' to the police.
The Maharashtra Women’s Commission posted on 'X' that it has received a complaint from one of the survivors of this incident, and that it has asked the Police Commissioner to submit a report.
“On August 2, Rupali Chakankar, chair of the women's commission, assured me she would ask the police commissioner to look into the matter and take necessary action. Thereafter, the commission has not contacted us. We also sent an email, to which we did not receive a comprehensive response, only an auto-generated receipt,” said Patil.
On August 7, a protest was organised by the left parties and others in Pune to demand justice, basically, filing an FIR. Hundreds of youths, social activists and civil society group members gathered at the District Collector’s office and raised slogans. Members of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and others submitted a charter of demands to the District Collector. They demand an immediate FIR against police officers involved in the assault and abuse under the Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of) Atrocities Act, 1989.
Another demand is for an independent judicial inquiry into the misuse of power by the police and disciplinary action against all officers who attempted to intimidate or silence the survivor and her supporters.
Suniti Sulabha Raghunath, a senior activist with the National Alliance of the People’s movement (NAPM), told Outlook, “The way police have assaulted these women, illegally detained them for five hours, inflicted caste atrocities, is horrible. I went to the police station and many people protested, but the police were not ready to file an FIR. These women were harassed because they are Dalit. Those (police) who are meant to ensure people’s safety are assaulting them. Where do common people, especially women, go to feel safe?”
A complainant in this case, one of the three survivors, is a Dalit woman struggling to build her career; the first to attempt to do so in her family. Her marginalised family struggles to make ends meet. According to people close to the other two women, who also come from similar backgrounds, they are currently coping with the trauma and physical health issues.
Lalita, an activist with the Revolutionary Workers Party of India (RWPI), who attended a protest in Pune, said, “These young Dalit women helped another woman escape from domestic violence. Why were they harassed by the police using caste remarks? We are all demanding an immediate FIR.”
Survivors are determined to seek justice from the court, if need be. Butfor now, they have appealed to Chief Minister Devendra Phadnavis to direct the police to file an FIR.
