Mumbai: At a time when the Maratha community, through their silent protest marches across the state, has demanded a relook at the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Dalit community on Wednesday took out a silent morcha in Latur district to demand that the Act should not be repealed.
Members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party also extended support to the protest march. The morcha, which started from Ambedkar Chowk, began by garlanding the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
The community has demanded that the Atrocity Act should not be repealed, the cases under the Act should be fast-tracked and a special court should be designated to deal with the cases under the Act. The community also demanded that the culprits of the brutal rape and murder case in Khopardi should be given capital punishment.
They also demanded that the Muslim community should get reservation in job and education. The community demanded that the atrocities against Dalits and Muslims by Gaurakshaks should stop immediately. The members of the community added that they are not against reservations of Maratha, but are opposed to their demand of a relook at the Atrocity Act.
The protests by Maratha community started in the aftermath of a 17-year-old Maratha girl’s rape and murder in Khopardi, Ahmednagar.
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