RSS Goons Attack Rohith Vemula Solidarity Rally In Mumbai

By Countercurrents.org

25 January, 2016
Countercurrents.org

About 500 people who had gathered in Mumbai's Dharavi to protest against the institutional murder of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula of Hyderabad Central Univeristyi were attacked Sunday evening by RSS goons.

Ajmal Khan who injured his head in the attack posted on his Facebook page:

We some 500 protesters gathered in Dharavi to demand justice for Rohith Vemula were beaten up by workers believed to be affiliated to Rashtra Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). The protest march was organised by Nationalist Forum Dharavi, a collective of Vizhithezhu Iyakkam, Jai Bhim Foundation, Andhra Karnataka Dalit Varg Sangh - Dharavi, Republican Panthers along with students from the umbrella forum- “‘Justice for Rohith-Joint Action Committee Mumbai’. They were demanding justice for Rohith Vemula of University of Hyderabad who committed suicide on January 17th due to harassment from the university administration. Several protesters including students have sustained injuries. Many women protesters were heckled and attacked. Suvarna, Ajmal Khan, Srushti, Laxman kallada, Vipul, Ganesh, Anadh, Pradeep and Arun Sathish were the people who got injured, they were hospitalized at Sion hospital.

During the protest, casteist remarks were made by the attackers against the participants of the protest raising slogans of “Jai Bhim”. A poster with Dr Ambedkar's photo was torn and stamped upon by RSS workers. Though several police officers were present on the spot during the attack, they did nothing to stop the goons and instead pushed the protesters away. The protesters bravely stood ground and marched towards the nearest police station (Dharavi) to lodge complaint against the attackers. We were protesting peacefully when 15-20 people attacked the front lines of our rally with lathis and stones the attackers shouted ‘Jai Bhim walon ko maaro' (Attack the Jai Bhim people) as while carrying out the attacks on the rally.

To lodge a complaint against the attackers, the protesters had to camp outside the Dharavi police station. The police was negotiating with BJP MLA Tamil Selva from Sion Kolidwada constituency and RSS themselves took out a rally against the protesters in Dharavi with slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. We said we will not go away from the police station until police register case under atrocities act. After a big protest and demand SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 was filed against the people who attacked us.