Mumbai: A case was registered Wednesday against a Gujarati father and son in Mumbai after a woman accused them of denying her a flat in their building because she was Marathi.
Praveen Tanna, the secretary of Mulund’s Shiv Sadan society, and his son Nilesh face charges of wrongful restraint, intentionally causing hurt, and insulting with the intention to provoke under various sections of the penal code.
The woman, Trupti Deorukhkar, made the accusations in a video Wednesday night which drew sharp comments from citizens and Maharashtra politicians. In the clip she posted on Facebook, a sobbing Deorukhkar said she was “shocked and saddened at what was happening to a Marathi person in Mumbai”.
Deorukhkar, who runs a social media marketing firm, told ThePrint: “The secretary of the society Praveen Tanna told me Maharashtrians were not allowed in their society. I got very angry and asked him if that was a society rule, which sparked the quarrel.”
She was recording Praveen argue when son Nilesh snatched her phone and firmly held her other hand, she said. “I was scared since my work and my client information was on the phone. There was heckling and they pushed us around… My husband’s glasses broke too. That’s why we registered a police complaint later,” Deorukhkar said.
After watching the video – which was posted Wednesday night – many took to micro-blogging site X in anger, claiming discrimination against Marathis.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray termed the incident “annoying” while his colleague Sanjay Raut questioned the “arrogance” of the accused.
चीड आणणारी घटना…
पण प्रश्न हा आहे, की हे पाहून मिंधे-भाजपा सरकार काय करणार?
आमच्या मराठमोळ्या वारकऱ्यांवर, बारसूमधल्या महिलांवर, मराठा समाजावर लाठ्या चालवल्या…
तसा इथेही कायद्याचा धाक दाखवणार, की दिल्लीश्वर नाराज होतील म्हणून ‘हाताची घडी तोडांवर बोट’ ठेवून गप्प बसणार?ह्या… https://t.co/stfcuNcBaO
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) September 27, 2023
State Congress president Nana Patole questioned whether there was no place for Marathi people in Maharashtra anymore.
मुंबई मध्ये आता मराठी माणसाला च जागा नाही ??
आज मुलुंड मुंबई येथे एका मराठी भगिनी बाबतीत झालेला प्रकार हा अतिशय संतापजनक आहे. Maharashtrian Not Allowed अशी मुजोरी काही मंडळी येथे मुंबई मध्ये करत आहेत हे अजिबात खपवून घेतले जाणार नाही. यांच्या मागे कोणत्या शक्ती आहेत हे बघितले… https://t.co/Uc1v9Vc9hW
— Nana Patole (@NANA_PATOLE) September 27, 2023
Meanwhile, a group of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers took Deorukhkar to the Mulund society Thursday and made the Tannas apologise to her.
MNS leader from Mulund Satyavan Dalvi told ThePrint that others in the area had also come forward, citing instances of similar discrimination. making the same allegation.
Around 11 pm Wednesday night, Maharashtra State Commission for Women Chairperson Rupali Chakankar said they had made a note of the incident and also sought an inquiry into the matter.
तृप्ती देवरुखकर यांना मराठी भाषिक असल्याच्या कारणावरून मुलुंड, मुंबई येथील शिवसदन सहकारी गृहनिर्माण संस्थेने सदनिका नाकारण्यात आली तसेच याबाबत प्रश्न उपस्थित केल्याने संस्थेच्या पदाधिकाऱ्यांकडून त्यांना धक्काबुक्की करण्यात आल्याचे वृत्त मध्यामांवरून प्रसारित होत आहे.
भारतीय…
— Rupali Chakankar (@ChakankarSpeaks) September 27, 2023
A police officer told ThePrint that the complaint was being probed after registration of the FIR. Calls to the Shiv Sadan society’s office, however, remained unanswered.
What happened that day?
Trupti Deorukhkar said she and her husband visited the Shiv Sadan building shortly after noon Wednesday to see a flat where she could shift her office.
She wrote in her police complaint: “Our acquaintance had one space in the building’s ground floor which we wanted to check out.”
While she was in the flat, 80-year-old Praveen Tanna came in and began to talk to the man who was showing her the place.
In her complaint, Deorukhkar said: “I asked what was wrong and was told that Marathis were not allowed (in the building). I asked to see the rule book when he got angry. He even said I could call, tell or complain to anyone and that nobody could do anything to him. Seeing his age, my husband and I left the place.”
As they made their way out, his son Nilesh asked the couple why they had argued with his father. He was soon joined by the father and they jointly abused them, Deorukhkar complained.
As the quarrel escalated, the father and son allegedly assaulted Deorukhkar and her husband, which is when others intervened to control the situation, she claimed in the FIR.
She recorded the video when she got home. “Nobody values Maharashtrians in Mumbai,” Deorukhkar said in the video, also lamenting that not a single Maharashtrian came forward to help her when she was allegedly being abused. “I am furious about everyone and not just Gujaratis. I am also not saying all Gujaratis discriminate like this. But just like this society in Mulund West, I am sure there will be other housing societies which have such rules. And many like me must have faced such humiliation,” a tearful Deorukhkar said in the clip.
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