Fearing their safety, family walks from Pune to Mumbai to meet CM

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.

- Sabah Virani

MUMBAI: They were weary, their clothes tattered, and the soles of their feet caked with dirt. The family had just walked a distance of 150 km, from Pune to Mumbai, over six days, 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," she said.