In a pre-dawn swoop, the Maharashtra police on Wednesday arrested four Dalit activists and a professor from Nagpur University with alleged Maoist links, in connection the January 1, 2018 Bhima-Koregaon riots in Pune district.
Following up on the simultaneous raids conducted on April 17 in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur on residences of various Dalit leaders and other functionaries associated with the Elgaar Parishad, the police took into custody Surendra Gadling, General Secretary Indian Association of People’s lawyers from Nagpur, Sudhir Dhawale, Editor Vidrohi from Mumbai, and three others.
Apart from Gadling and Raut, three others arrested were Prof Shoma Sen, Head of Department of English, Nagpur University, Rona Wilson, Public Relations Secretary, Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CORPP) and Mahesh Raut, anti-displacement activist from Bharat Jan Andolan and Human Rights activist Rona Jacob Wilson.
While Dhawale was arrested from Mumbai, Wilson was arrested from south Delhi flat. Three others Gadling, Prof Sen and Raut were picked up from Nagpur by the Pune police.
Pune’s Joint Commissioner of Police Ravindra Kadam, who was earlier the Inspector General of the Naxalite-infested Gadchiroli range, said that his team had arrested five persons from Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi for their alleged role in inciting violence at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district.
The arrests have been made on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered with the Vishram Baug police station in Pune under under 153(A), 505 (1)(b), 117 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with Elgar Parishad organised by the leftist outfit Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) and Republican Panthers Party ahead of the January 1, 2018 Bhima-Koregaon riots
“We are also investigating the Maoist link in the Koregaon Bhima riots,” Kadam said.
“It is just a ploy to victimize us. They ( five persons) have been arrested illegally. these arrests are being done to shield Sambhaji Bhide Guruji, the founder of Shree Shiv Pratisthan Hindustan and Pune-based Milind Ekbote, the founder of Samastha Hindu Aghadi, for caste riots at Bhima-Koregaon, Harshali Potdar, one of the coordinators of the Elgaar Parishad said. Dubbing the arrests as an “attack on Ambedkarite movement, Dalit leader from Gujarat Jignesh Mewani tweeted: “Maharashtra police has arrested Ambedkarite activist & editor Sudhir Dhawale in Mumbai, advocate Surendra Gadling in Nagpur and Rona Wilson in Delhi. All 3 booked under draconian UAPA while Bhima Koregaon culprit Manohar Bhide roams scot free”.