Page 26 - Unleashed BMM 2019-2020

SILENCE AFTER

THE STORM

A peek into a 'peaceful' village after a bloody incident

A month after a heinous lynching incident rocked the remote hamlet of Rainpada,
Atharva Pande and Gaurav Mangtani visited the hamlet to talk to the affected natives.

ATHARVA PANDE

A signboard at the entrance of the village warning that the area is cordoned off by the police. Atharva Pande

on't go there, people are angry, you might get hurt or something As we walked towards Rainpada, a month after the brutal lynching, mental
worse could happen... This warning by a nearby villager images of mangled men being dragged down on the streets by a ruthless
D echoed in our ears as we inched closer to Rainpada. The tale mob leaving a trail of blood flooded our minds. However, what we saw
still echoed in our ears after they said, "The tribals were thrashed and and experienced upon entering the village was entirely different.
dragged from Gotilamba to Rainpada after they were allegedly seen giving The place was overflowing with uncanny peace and serenity engulfed
some sweets to the children..." "All the villagers suspected the tribals as us, disturbed only by the sound of wind and rustling of the leaves. But,
child kidnappers and dragged them to their death along the 400 metre this was just on the surface. The village was shook by the incident, the
stretch from Gotilamba to Rainpada..." Many such reports in various roads were deserted and the farms were abandoned. "After the incident,
newspapers since the last month brought us to the remote and small village many men fled their homes leaving only the women, children and elders
of Rainpada along the Maharashtra-Gujarat border. here. The police had imposed a curfew on the village and picked up any
Rainpada, a small hamlet about 100 kilometres from the city of Dhule man or boy who they deemed suspicious," said Vishwas Gangurde, an ad-
recently came into limelight, but all for the wrong reasons. Five tribals visor to the Sarpanch and one of the two braves who valiantly fought
from the Nathpanthi Davari Gosavi community were lynched by a mob against the enraged and heavily armed mob on that fateful day.
of 3000 villagers from nearby hamlets on July 1st. Suspecting that the five The village is inhabited by the three ethnic communities, the Kolis, the
men were child kidnappers, the mob thrashed them with sticks and rods Maunshis and the Bhils. The worst hit are the two Adivasi communities
till they succumbed to death in the Gram Panchayat office of the village. of Maunshis and Bhils.

26 | UNLEASHED | 2019