Bhima-koregaon violence: Prakash Ambedkar wants Sambhaji Bhide arrested, threatens march

Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (BMM) chief, Prakash Ambedkar, has warned the state government to arrest right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide, who was accused of inciting the Bhima-Koregaon violence by March 26, failing which, he will take out a protest march in Mumbai on that day.

“If the state government does not arrest Sambhaji Bhide, we will take out a morcha on March 26. We will start from Byculla and march to the Vidhan Bhavan,” said Prakash Ambedkar, who is the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution.

Although the state has filed a case against Bhide for stoking violence, it has still not arrested him.

On Wednesday, the Pune police arrested another right-wing leader Miling Ekbote, in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence.

Ekbote, heads the Samasta Hindu Aghadi and his anticipatory bail was dismissed by the Supreme Court. Sambhaji Bhide, who is known as Bhide Guruji, founded the Shiv Pratishthan and is very close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership. In 2015, he was recommended for the Padma Shri by the present government.

Violence erupted at Bhima Koregaon, 176kms south-east of Mumbai, on January 1, during the Dalit celebrations of the 200th year of the British-Peshwa war in which Dalit soldiers had played a pivotal role in ensuring victory for the British. Many attributed the violence to the discontentment between the Marathas and the Dalits.

Prakash Ambedkar called for a Maharashtra bandh on January 3, one of the most successful bandhs in recent times, in the aftermath of the violence. All Dalits participated in the bandh irrespective of political affiliations.

This week, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that he was withdrawing cases against those who were booked in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence. However, Dalit outfits were not happy as they felt the measures were insufficient.