Dalits protest to mark Khairlanji massacre

More than 20 organisations came together and held a one-day protest at the Council Hall in Pune in order to condemn the 2006 Khairlanji massacre and support the ongoing Dalit struggle and demands in Una on Thursday.

On September 29, 2006, four members of a Dalit family were murdered by a mob of the dominant Kunbi caste in retaliation against a complaint lodged against one of them. The protestors on Thursday demanded justice for the lone surviving member Bhaiyyalal Bhotmange of the massacred Dalit family, setting up of courts in every district of Maharashtra to hear atrocity cases and fast-tracking of the Kopardi rape case.

“Today September 29 is the 10th anniversary of Khairlanji massacre in which a Dalit family of four was brutally murdered after the women in the family were paraded naked around the town in Bhandara district in 2006. However, the court case is still pending in the Supreme Court. The Bhotmange family should get justice as soon as possible,” demanded Prabhakar T. of the Dalit Adivasi Adhikar Andolan.

The protestors further said the government should make sure Dalits and Muslims do not face discrimination in the name of cow slaughter and for this the government should revoke the ban on cow slaughter.