Housing societies are often called out for discriminating against certain kinds of people.
Whether it be people from a certain community or religion, single men and women, those identifying as LGBTQ+, and many more are seen through a very suspicious lens with housing societies and landlords often reluctant to lend space to them due to ill-conceived prejudices and stereotypes.
However, recently a woman has come forward on how she was denied office space in a Mumbai building due to an alleged ‘no Marathi’ policy in the society.
Her video has gone viral where she is recounting the incident and how she was driven away from the Gujarati-dominated building society in Mumbai by the society’s secretary Praveen Thakkar and his son Nilesh Thakkar.
What Happened?
A Marathi woman called Trupti Deorukhkar, posted a video on social media platforms where she is seen crying and talking about how she was “shocked and saddened at what was happening to a Marathi person in Mumbai”.
Video 1/2 | Mulund resident Trupti Deorukhkar expressed her anguish over a society refusing to give her a flat because she's "Marathi". pic.twitter.com/JuZf0zv3RF
— MUMBAI NEWS (@Mumbaikhabar9) September 28, 2023
She further went on to say that “Nobody values Maharashtrians in Mumbai,” and talked about what happened when they had gone to see the site for potential office space at the Shiv Sadan Society in Mulund.
She said “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.”
Also, she pointed out how no other Maharashtrian came to help her when the fight was happening.
Sobbing she said “They are so egoistic that living in Maharashtra they are telling a Marathi woman that she is not allowed in the society. Where are the politicians in the name of ‘Marathis’? This is not my sorrow but my anger. How many Marathi people have experienced what I experienced today? How many have been denied housing?”
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The incident happened when Trupti Deorukhkar with her husband had gone to visit the Shiv Sadan building after an acquaintance had told them about a space on the building’s ground floor for their office. However, while she was being shown the flat, the secretary of the society Praveen Thakkar came in and started to talk about how Marathis were restricted from being in the building.
In her official 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.”
The couple started to leave, not wanting to stay any longer when Praveen’s son Nilesh Thakkar came over and questioned why they they had argued with his father. Soon the Gujarati father-son duo became heated and it was then that Deorukhkar took out her phone and started to record the altercation.
This seemed to agitate the son even more when he grabbed her phone and even held her other hand. In a quote to The Print, she said “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.”
And explained that “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.”
https://twitter.com/andharesushama/status/1707066105364406719
She posted both of her videos on social media on Wednesday itself right after the incidents occurred.
Trupti soon after filed a complaint with the Mulund Police Station against the father and son for manhandling her and her husband, and “Based on the woman’s complaint we registered an FIR in the case under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (insulting someone intentionally to provoke them)” as per senior inspector Kantilal Kothimbire.
However, he also added that “The father-son duo who live in the building were arrested and produced before court on Wednesday. The two were granted bail the same day.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Livemint, The Indian Express, The Print
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: marathi, mumbai, no marathi, no marathi policy, marathi discrimination, marathi viral video, mumbai news, Woman No Marathi, Mulund, Mulund police, Maharashtrians, shiv sadan building mulund, Trupti Deorukhkar, discrimination
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
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