Solved case · 1997
The short answer
On 11 July 1997, State Reserve Police Force members opened fire on Dalit protesters in the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar colony in Mumbai after a statue of B. R. Ambedkar was desecrated, killing 10 people and injuring 26.
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Suggest coverage for 1997 Ramabai killingsOn 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.
A statue of B. R. Ambedkar outside Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar colony in Mumbai is found desecrated with a garland of sandals; protests form and State Reserve Police Force members open fire on the crowd, killing 10 people and injuring 26. A bus is later set ablaze and police conduct a lathi charge in the colony.
The Maharashtra Government appoints the Gundewar commission to investigate the killings.
The Gundewar commission publishes its report.
The Crime Investigation Department files a charge-sheet against police officer Manohar Kadam.
A sessions court convicts Manohar Kadam of "homicide amounting to murder" and sentences him to life imprisonment; the sentence is later revoked by the high court and he is released on bail.
Protesters arrested for setting a bus on fire during the unrest are acquitted after the court finds they were not present during the incident.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Dalit activist, poet, and artist who died by suicide in protest at the killings.[3]
Police officer accused of ordering the firing on protesters; convicted in 2009 by a sessions court of "homicide amounting to murder" and sentenced to life imprisonment, later released on bail after the high court revoked the sentence.[3]
From the record
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