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Bhima Koregaon: Compensation for Dalit family in two days,says minister
Pooja Sakat’s stone and tin shed family house was destroyed in the caste riots that erupted in the region on January 1,2018
Pune Dilip Kamble, Maharashtra minister for social justice, has promised a decision in two days on the demand for compensation by Pooja Sakat’s family as their stone-tin shed house was destroyed in the caste riots that erupted in the Bhima Koregaon region of Pune district on January 1,2018.
One person was killed and four others were injured after violence broke out in the Bhima Koregaon region of Pune district during celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the 1818 battle between the British and the Peshwa forces. Dalits from the Mahar community were part of the British forces which defeated the Peshwas.
Although the anniversary celebrations at the Vijay Stamb (Victory Pillar) has been an annual feature attended by Dalits from different parts of Maharashtra, there were strong undercurrents of tension this year as the Dalit celebrations were being viewed as anti-national by right-wing HIndutva organisations such as Hindu Ekta Parishad.
As a fallout of this violence, on April 22, 19-year-old Pooja Sakat, a class 11th student, who was a key witness to the vandalism that took place on January 1 and which led to the burning down of their house, was found dead in a well.
Pooja, who had gone missing on April 21, was found dead in a well in Wada hamlet, the next day.
While the Shikrapur police had registered a case of suicide, arrested two persons and booked nine others for abetment of suicide, under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Pooja’s family and Dalit politicians such as Prakash Ambedkar, alleged that she had been murdered.
Pooja’s brother, Jaideep Sakat demaned that all suspects be booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
“ I have personally visited the family and have promised them help, on behalf of the government. The government will either consider constructing their burnt house which is located on PWD (Public Works Department ) land, or will sanction funds under government schemes for the reconstruction of their house. Besides, we have offered them financial help through the tehsildar’s office,” he said.
Sitting in front of Pooja’s garlanded photo, her father Suresh showed the documents related to her case.
“We want the state government to rehabilitate us within one month and ensure that we get justice. Our daughter has been killed and she has not committed suicide,” he said.
“Pooja has been murdered by the accused as they wanted to settle scores with us and wanted us evicted from the plot. We have been facing social boycott from a section of local villagers and false allegations have been levelled against us as we are poor and belong to the Dalit community,” Jaideep said.
The family members who are currenty staying in a two-bedroom rental apartment at Wada, said their landlord, after coming to know about their case, had asked to them vacate the premises at the earliest.
“ We want to be rehabilitated within a month,” Jaideep said.
Meanwhile, the rural police has provided two policemen as security to the father and son after they complained of threat to their lives.
Deputy Sarpanch Vrushali Gavhane said the villagers from Bhima Koregaon were firmly behind the Sakat family in their grief and wanted unity to prevail among the villagers.
Security cover stepped up as footfall increases at Dalit victory memorial
Acting on the directives of the Maharashtra government, security measures have been tightened by Pune Rural Police at Vijay Stambh, the victory monument erected by the British after defeating the Peshwas in the 1818 battle of Koregaon Bhima.
Apart from deploying a platoon of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) outside the obelisk, a police assistance centre with a wireless operator has been set up at the entrance, manned by a an assistant police inspector (API).
The Vijay Stambh commemorates the heroic sacrifice of British East India Company soldiers, including Dalits from the Mahar community, who fell in the Koregaon Bhima battle of January 1, 1818, while defeating a sizeable army of Peshwa Bajirao II. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar visited this monument on January 1, 1927 and hailed it as an icon of Dalit pride after which the Victory Tower has become a rallying point and an assertion of Dalit pride.
API Vijay Gorad told that there has been a significant rise in the number of visitors to the monument, Vijay Stambh. Individuals, familes and groups from different parts of the state and the country have been visiting this monument which has been in the spotlight in recent months, he said.
“We are concentrating on maintaining tight security arrangements in accordance with the directions from the government,” Gorad said.
The police force stationed here monitors 25 closed circuit television(CCTV) sets installed around the monument. Besides, two police tents have been erected near the memorial for round-the-clock vigil at the spot.
Visitors are advised to offer floral tributes from a distance and not climb the steps leading to the memorial.
Assistant police inspector Vijay Gorad who is in charge of the security said the contact details of all the visitors to the monument are being recorded.
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