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.
