Maratha groups conduct morchas in Ahmednagar

Morchas and strikes were held in various districts on Monday over the brutal rape and murder of a minor girl in Kopardi village of Karjat tehsil in the Ahmednagar district which occurred last Wednesday.

Ahmednagar SP Saurav Tripathi on Monday said all the three accused were in custody and investigations were on. “The situation is tense but is slowly returning to normal. Bandobast has been deployed to prevent any law and order issue,” he said.

A massive state-level morcha was staged in Ahmednagar on Monday by activists of the Maratha Seva Sangh, Jijao Brigade, Sambhaji Brigade and other social organisations. The morcha began from Shivaji Chowk, Old CBS area and marched on to the collectorate amidst heavy police security. Activists from all over the state had converged in Ahmednagar with women wearing black sarees as protest.

Similarly, morchas and bandhs were reported from Pune, Buldhana, Yawatmal, Mahagaon, Usmanabad, Umarga, Chalisgaon, Akola and other places. Sadhna Thakare from Akola, while giving a memorandum to the government, demanded strict action against the rapists while Avi Narwade from Mahagaon said the police was giving protection to the accused persons’ family instead of the victim’s family.

Earlier, a Class 9 student from Maratha community was brutally tortured, raped and murdered in a very inhuman manner in Kopardi village by three persons from the Dalit community. Later, the victim’s family found her bleeding and took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

After her death, Maratha organisations began demanding action and took to the streets. The police has arrested prime accused Jeetendra alias Pappu Babulal Shinde, Santosh Bhaval and Nitin Bhailume, all residents of the same village.