In developments in the Bhima-Koregaon riots case, Hindu Ekta Aghadi (HEA) leader and accused Milind Ekbote was remanded in further custody till March 21 and another right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide alias Guruji demanded the arrest of senior Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar and others in connection with the incident.
On a day when an attempt was made to blacken Ekbote’s face by an activist on the premises of a Pune court which sent extended his police custody for another two days, Bhide Guruji—as Sambhaji Bhide is known in Maharashtra – upped the ante by demanding the arrest of Prakash Ambedkar and others for allegedly inciting the January 1, 2018 disturbances at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district.
Talking to media persons at Sangli in western Maharashtra, Bhide Guruji – who is the president of Shri Shiv Pratishthan, charged that the roots of the January 1 riots lay at the ‘Yalgar Parishad’ (conference) organised by various groups on December 31 at Pune Prominent among the speakers at the conference were: Ambedkar Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, JNU leader Umar Khalid, retired high court judge, Justice B. G. Kolse-Patil and other left and Dalit leaders.
“At this meeting, all these leaders including Ambedkar had incited gathering present into indulging in violence and rioting… We demand that the Government must immediately arrest them for the Bhima-Koregaon riots,” Bhide Guruji said.
Bhide Guruji’s clamour for Ambedkar’s arrest comes four days after the latter demanded the right wing leader’s arrest in connection with the January 1 riots.