Maharashtra women rights ground demand action over alleged police brutality, casteist abuse in Pune 

Following allegations of assault, casteist slurs, and sexual harassment by Pune’s Kothrud police against three women, the Maharashtra Stree Mukti Parishad has sought urgent action against the accused officers. A six-member delegation on Monday (August 11, 2025) submitted complaints to police headquarters and rights commissions in Mumbai, demanding justice and protection for the survivors. 

At a press conference held at the Mumbai Marathi Journalists Association, activist Hasina Khan alleged that on August 1, around 1 p.m., police barged into a rented home in Pune’s Kothrud area, assaulted the three women (Dalits), and searched their belongings without a warrant while investigating a missing person complaint. “They searched their mobile phones, wardrobes, and underwear, touched them inappropriately, and constantly passed casteist slurs. The women were illegally detained and tortured physically and mentally until 7 p.m.,” Ms. Khan said. 

Activist Chayanika Shah said the missing woman — a married resident of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar — had been facing harassment from her in-laws and stayed overnight with friends in Pune on July 31 before moving to a One Stop Sakhi Centre. Her father-in-law, a retired police sub-inspector, allegedly sent officers to her friends’ home, where they threatened and detained them. “The interrogation took place in a closed room with no CCTV cameras, in the presence of the retired officer and the woman’s in-laws, simply for giving her shelter,” Ms. Shah said. 

The women were released around 7:30 p.m. on August 1 and later attempted to file an FIR under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, but were refused by the police officers. On August 4, Kothrud police issued a statement saying a preliminary investigation found the allegations “not substantiated” and that a case under the Atrocities Act could not be made out. 

Ms. Khan said the survivors have since been evicted by their landlord and are staying with the members of the organisation in Pune, facing immense trauma. Political outfits, including the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), have also demanded action against the accused officers. 

The delegation on Monday visited the Director General of Police, the Mumbai City Collector, and the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission, submitting letters demanding immediate legal action under the Atrocities Act and IPC, protection for survivors of domestic violence, and an unconditional police apology. “It is disappointing that those appointed to hear us do not care when we approach them. None of them were available to meet us or hear us out. The woman collector of Mumbai city, Aanchal Goyal, did not show much interest to address the concerns. Constitutional provisions have been violated by the police themselves,” Ms. Khan said. 

In the letter submitted to the officials, the organisation has demanded the dignity of the people who have been unjustly victimized by police action in this entire case should be restored. It also asked the Home Minister and Chief Minister to take immediate action to ensure justice for them. “Immediate action should be taken against the police officers involved in harassing these young women. Police personnel and officers who resort to casteist abuse should be booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention) Atrocities Act, 1989 and the Indian Penal Code. Guarantee protection and safety to women who are victims of domestic violence and who have sought refuge from their in-laws. Strict action should be taken against the woman’s in-laws, who misused their former position and used the police system,” the statement read.  

It further demanded that the government should ensure that the right of young women to protection from employment, housing, economic and social abuse remains intact, and the police administration should unconditionally apologize to these young women for all the hardships they have suffered due to this brutality.