Dalit girl dies after attending 'Sadbhavna' rally in Sangli

Representational picture

Representational picture

A 14-year-old Dalit girl today died on her way back home from a 'Sadbhavna' rally organised in Maharashtra's Sangli district following the Koregaon-Bhima violence earlier this month, a senior administration official said. A Class 8 student, the minor was unwell and had been running a fever for a day, but she had insisted on attending the rally, her family members said. Her condition worsened by the time the rally ended, they said.

"Aishwarya Kamble, a resident of Sangli city, participated in the rally. But while returning home, she fainted and was taken to the civil hospital. The doctors could not save her despite all efforts," Sangli Collector Vijaykumar Kalam Patil said. "It is very sad and shocking. We will come to know the exact cause of her death after the postmortem," he said. The Sangli district administration had organised the rally to spread the message of social equality and harmony between communities following the Koregaon-Bhima violence. Sangli is the home city of Sambhaji Bhide, the pro-Hindutva leader who heads the Shri Shivpratishthan Hindustan.

Bhide is accused of instigating the violence during the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Koregaon-Bhima battle in Pune on January 1. The octogenarian has denied he had a role in the episode. The 'Sadbhavna' rally today started from Pushkaraj Chowk and concluded at Shivaji Stadium in Sangli city, around 380 kilometres from Mumbai.

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