Ranragini Bhumata Brigade receives threat via letter

The body advocates entry of women to the sanctum at Shani Shingnapur.

The Ranragini Bhumata Brigade (RBB) has received an anonymous letter warning that they could ‘become Dabholkar’ if they persisted with their demand of taking darshan of Shani idol from the prohibited chauthara (sanctum).

Rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar was murdered in August 2013 due to his views against superstition. The phrase ‘become Dabholkar’ is a possible threat towards RBB meeting the same fate as the late activist.

The letter was delivered to RBB President Trupti Desai’s house at 1 pm on Friday. Ms Desai said that the letter asked them why they were raking up the Shani Shingnapur issue. ‘There are several other pressing issues faced by women; the farmers have issues,’ it said. ‘Stop these activities or else you will become Dabholkar,’ is what the letter stated, Ms Desai said. She also said that the letter was not signed by anyone but was attributed to ‘Virodhak’ (opposition).

Ms Desai said that she has filed a complaint with the Sahakar Nagar police station immediately after receiving the letter and also forwarded the document to the police. “The police registered our complaint but no protection has been given or any other steps taken,” Ms Desai told The Asian Age.

She further added, “The fight for opinion should be fought with opinion and not by degrading oneself to this level. Whoever wrote the letter should identify himself and show he is not impotent. We are not scared by such threats. In fact, this will help us in intensifying our struggle for equality.”

Senior police inspector S.G. Shinde of Sahakar Nagar police station said that they had registered a non-cognisable (NC) offence. “We have registered an NC and are keeping a watch on the situation.”

RBB shot to prominence on Republic Day, when they attempted to forcefully set foot on the sanctum forbidden to women. Nearly 1,000 women from Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar and other places left for Shani Shingnapur on 26 January. Police stopped them about 65 km from the temple town and sent them back after detaining them for a while.

Later, the collector of Ahmednagar Anil Kawade invited the RBB activists and Shani Shingnapur Devasthan Trust members to discuss the issue. Even though no solution was reached, both the parties said that an amicable settlement was possible.