1997 Ramabai killings

On 11 July 1997, residents of Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, a predominantly Dalit urban colony in Mumbai, discovered that a statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar located in front of the colony had been fitted with a garland of sandals, an act widely regarded as a desecration. Angered residents complained to the nearest police post, Local Beat No. 5, which was located only a few metres from the statue, but were instead directed to the Pantnagar police station. As word spread, a crowd of protesters formed and by around 7 AM had blocked the highway running past the colony.

A team of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) personnel arrived shortly afterward and opened fire on the crowd using live ammunition. The firing lasted approximately 10 to 15 minutes and resulted in the deaths of 10 people, including a bystander who had not taken part in the protest. Following the shooting, the protests escalated. At approximately 11:30 AM, a luxury bus was set on fire. In response, around 25 police officers entered the colony, using tear gas and a lathi charge to disperse the crowd. By the end of the day, 26 people had been seriously injured and the Local Beat No. 5 police post had been destroyed by protesters.

In protest at the killings, Dalit activist, poet, and artist Vilas Ghogre died by suicide.

The Maharashtra government appointed the Gundewar commission in November 1997 to investigate the killings, and the commission published its findings in 1999. A criminal case was subsequently filed in a sessions court against police officer Manohar Kadam, who allegedly ordered the firing. The case was later transferred to the Crime Investigation Department, which filed a charge-sheet in 2006. In 2009, the sessions court convicted Kadam of "homicide amounting to murder" and sentenced him to life imprisonment; the sentence was later revoked by the Bombay High Court, and Kadam was released on bail. Separately, in April 2011, protesters who had been arrested and charged in connection with setting the bus on fire were acquitted after the court found they had not been present during the incident.

The events were later documented in the film "Jai Bhim Comrade" by Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, a friend of Vilas Ghogre, who stated the filming process took 14 years as he awaited the jailing of the accused police officer and the acquittal of the colony residents.