Bitter taste of martyrdom

Policemen guarding the bust of Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar at Kurla on the Eastern highway. July 14: Ramabai Ambedkar nagar, Ghatkopar, has the...

Policemen guarding the bust of Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar at Kurla on the Eastern highway.

July 14: Ramabai Ambedkar nagar, Ghatkopar, has the uneasy air of a town besieged — Police and Rapid Action Force have doubled their guard in the colony. Or, to put it in bureaucratic parlance, the situation is tense but under control.

Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Barwe today told Express Newsline that no untoward incidents have been reported in the last 24 hours. The deployment will continue as a precautionary measure, he said. However, defying the police posse, dalits regrouped in large numbers this morning around the desecrated Ambedkar bust in the colony.

In the first phase of the siege, the outer rim of the colony has been strengthened so that the agitators cannot break through the cordon and disrupt traffic on the Eastern Express Highway. Patrolling within the colony has also been intensified to prevent any untoward incident, says the police.

Story continues below this ad

Amongst the dalits, the mood was bitter. “We don’t know what will happen once the police bandobast is lifted,” said a group of dalit youths. “There could be 1000 sacrifices to bring justice to our slain fellow Dalits,” remarked another. According to local dalit activist Vikas (Bunty) Pawar, they may launch a Jan Andolan in their fight against the indiscriminate police firing which killed 11 innocent residents. “We will follow the path laid down by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar,” added Pawar.

“How can colony residents forget the Friday mayhem which happened in front of our eyes? People were struggling like slaughtered chickens with bullets wounds and we could do nothing as the State Reserve Police jawans pointed guns at us,” said Kailash Barwe. (A bullet grazed through Kailash’s right upper ear when he tried to save a child near D B Pawar chowk on Friday morning.)

Others felt the police were using all possible force to bring dalits to their knees. They pointed to a bereaved family whom the police brutally beat up when they were preparing for the funeral on Saturday evening. The anger was evident when they assaulted policemen with stones near Rajawadi crematorium during yesterday’s funeral. They even forced a strong posse of armed policemen to retreat. According to DCP Barwe, plans are afoot to defuse tension in the colony and the neighbourhood. The police will be conducting a meeting with senior Dalit leaders in the area to eliminate misunderstanding and establish communication with the affected people, said Barwe.