Family walks from Pune to Mumbai, seeking justice from CM

Sonam Londhe and her family walked for six days, a distance of 150 km, from Pune to Mumbai, seeking justice and an audience with the chief minister

MUMBAI: Sonam Londhe and her family – her sisters, and young niece and nephew – found a spot at Azad Maidan, where they spread a thin blanket on the ground, to rest on Thursday morning. They were weary, their clothes tattered, and the soles of their feet caked with dirt.

Mumbai, India - Feb. 13, 2025:Suman Londhe along with her family members, protesting against caste violence at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, February 13, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The family had just walked for six days, a distance of 150 km, from Pune to Mumbai, seeking justice and an audience with the chief minister.

As the others rested, Londhe spoke of the desperation that had driven them to take this step. “Our story starts two years ago, when a neighbour in Thergaon, Pimpri Chinchwad, attacked our boy over a remark on our Matang caste,” she said. “Fearing harm due to this caste enmity, we approached the Vakad police but the officer told us there was no one in charge and he couldn’t do anything. They refused to take our complaint or give us medical assistance. That was the beginning of a long list of injustices done to us.”

Fearing for their safety, the family installed a CCTV camera outside their home but things took a terrible turn around seven months ago. “Civic officials and the police barged into our house, shoved us aside and demolished the toilet just outside our home. My nephew tried to shoot a video but he was barred and hurt. They made sure they blocked the CCTV camera too. The next day, our drinking water supply was cut.”

A family of meagre means, they run a kirana shop in Thergaon village, selling flowers and miscellaneous items. But the absence of a toilet and drinking water left them very vulnerable. “We use a sari as a shield when we use the toilet pit,” explained Londhe’s sister, Reshma Chauhan. “For water, we send the kids to collect some from the neighbourhood tank every day.”

When they attempted to complain about what had happened, Londhe said they were shunted between various authorities, including the police at Vakad and Kalewadi, as well as the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. “They keep asking us for documents to prove ownership of our house, which we’ve had for two generations. The police also asked us for our thumb prints on blank sheets of paper. I have even spent a night at the police station, but our complaints have never been registered. The kids have been hurt and we fear for our lives.”

When nothing worked, the family set off on foot for Mumbai on February 7, for an audience with the chief minister. They slept in the open and took shelter in temples, scraping by with food given by well-wishers.

“Someone told us we should go to Azad Maidan, from where we will be taken to Mantralaya. But it’s already Thursday night and nothing has happened. Now we are at CSMT station. Tomorrow, we will try again to get to the chief minister,” said Londhe.

Officials from the Pune police did not respond to questions, with Nivrutti Kolhatkar, an officer from the Vakad police station, directing all questions to the Kalewadi police station.