6 KKM members booked for statements at Elgar Parishad

Pune: The Vishrambaug police on Monday booked six members of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), a Left-leaning cultural organisation, for making "provocative" and "inflammatory" statements during the Elgar Parishad held at the historic Shaniwarwada fort on December 31.
The complaint was lodged by a 37-year-old local builder, a resident of Katraj, who went to the police with a recording of the proceedings at the Parishad. The complaint stated that the KKM members had sung songs and performed a street play during the Parishad, which had spread hatred and disharmony among the citizens.

The Parishad was organised a day before the 200th year commemoration of the battle of Koregaon Bhima between the Peshwa troops and the British army on January 1, 1818.

The six KKM members are Sudhir Dhavale, Harshali Potdar, Ramesh Gaychor, Deepak Dengle, Jyoti Jagtap and Sagar Gorkhe. Efforts to get a statement from KKM were unsuccessful. TOI got through to one of the booked members, who promised to get back but didn't till the time of going to press.

Following another complaint earlier, the police had booked newly-elected Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and student leader Umar Khalid for allegedly making provocative statements during their speeches at the Parishad.

Both complaints state that as a result of the Parishad, violence broke out at Koregaon Bhima and adjacent villages on January 1.

KKM, a city-based cultural organisation, performs dramas and street plays, sings songs and recites poetry on current political and social conditions. Claiming to spread awareness among the masses, they perform in villages, slums, educational institutions and at functions. They have often taken up issues concerning Dalit rights. Majority of the KKM members are students and young professionals.

Over the years, KKM members have been arrested by the Maharashtra police under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly being sympathisers of Maoists and Naxalites. The state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and police arrested several KKM members between 2011 and 2013 for allegedly promoting Maoist or Naxalite ideology.

Most of the arrested KKM members were released from jail in 2017, following which they resumed their performances.

The complaint against the KKM members states that the songs and street play performed by them at Shaniwarwada "caused disharmony among people from different communities", "incited" the crowd at the Parishad and "urged people to fight".

Police have invoked sections 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc), 117 (abetting commission of an offence) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code.