4,00,000 Marathas stage morcha over Khopardi rape

Marathas in various districts appear to be vying with each other in a show of strength. An estimated 4,00,000 men, women and children from the community staged a Maratha Kranti silent morcha in Parbhani on Saturday to protest against the Khopardi rape and murder.

“A morcha is normally in a straight line. However in this morcha, the people at the end had to remain at their spot, about 4km away, as there was no space for movement. Simultaneously, every road and lane was packed with people,” stated D. Kadam president of the Shiv Sangram Sanghatana.

The morcha began from Nutan vidyalaya at noon and traversed through Jail Road, AP Bank chowk, Subhash Road, RR Tower and concluded at the Shivaji Statue. As usual, a delegation of five girls gave a memorandum to the collector.

The national anthem was sung and a condolence prayer was held for the Khopardi teenager. Other leaders include Maratha Seva Sangh’s Dilip More, Nitin Sawant and others.

Mr Kadam further said that after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, this was the first time that the Maratha community had united.

“We will remain united after this,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, the Maratha Kranti morcha will be held on September 24 in Nashik, one of the organisers and Jijao Brigade district president Madhuri Bhadane said.

Further morchas will be organised on September 9 at Sangli, September 19 at Latur, September 21 at Solapur and September 23 at Ahmednagar. A meeting to decide the timing and venue of the morcha will be held in Pune on September 4.

Further morchas will be organised in Nanded, Buldhana and Akola, sources said. This is the fifth Maratha Kranti morcha in the state after morchas were held in Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Jalgaon and Beed, where the community showed its numerical strength.