What is Ramabai Police firing on SC.STs?

The 1997 Ramabai killings (also known as the Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar police firing or Ramabai Nagar massacre) was a controversial incident on July 11, 1997, in Mumbai (then Bombay), Maharashtra, India.4b5a38

Wikipedia.

What Happened?

Residents of Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar, a predominantly Dalit colony in Ghatkopar (near the Eastern Express Highway), woke up to find a statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (architect of the Indian Constitution and a revered Dalit icon) desecrated with a garland of sandals/shoes around its neck — an act seen as a grave insult.5619e9

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Protesters gathered, complained to the nearby Pantnagar police (Local Beat No. 5), and blocked the highway in protest.

A team from the Maharashtra State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), led by Sub-Inspector Manohar Y. Kadam (also referred to as M.Y. Kadam), arrived shortly after.

 They opened fire with live ammunition on the crowd and into the colony's alleys for about 10–15 minutes.ac1347

Wikipedia

Casualties: 10 Dalits were killed (including bystanders, with reports of one young boy among the victims) and 26 were injured. Many victims were shot above the waist.0e9b3b

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Later that day, an angry crowd set fire to a luxury bus elsewhere, and police responded with tear gas and lathi charges inside the colony, leading to further injuries and the destruction of the local police beat post.9c422c

Wikipedia

Context and Controversy

The incident occurred amid tensions over caste discrimination and previous allegations against Kadam for anti-Dalit behavior and violations of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. His former superior had reportedly described him as “anti-Dalit.”02fcf9

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Critics, including human rights groups like Human Rights Watch, argued the firing was excessive, indiscriminate, and violated police guidelines and international standards on the use of force (e.g., it was not in immediate self-defense, and officers fired from a distance at unarmed or minimally threatening protesters).503cd5

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The desecrator(s) of the statue were never identified or caught.

Legal Outcome

In 2009, a fast-track court convicted Kadam of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.052d9d

NDTV

He was granted bail by the Bombay High Court while his appeal was pending. As of reports from the late 2010s, the appeal was still unresolved, and he remained out on bail.cf4e59

timesofindia.indiatimes

The event remains a significant reference point in discussions about Dalit rights, police brutality, caste violence, and the desecration of Ambedkar statues in India. It is often commemorated by Dalit and Ambedkarite groups.