In an early morning crackdown, a team of the Pune police on Wednesday arrested five activists across Delhi, Mumbai and Nagpur.
Those arrested include noted Dalit activist-publisher Sudhir Dhawale from Mumbai, prominent human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling and activists Mahesh Raut and Shoma Sen from Nagpur, and activist Rona Wilson in New Delhi for their alleged linkages with Naxalism and their role in organizing the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ to commemorate the bicentenary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in December last year.
The arrests, which come six months after the Bhima-Koregaon clashes of January 1, took place simultaneously across the three cities in the morning.
The activists were picked up from their residences by a team led by Joint Commissioner of Pune City Police, Ravindra Kadam for their alleged role in the violence on New Year’s Day, which occurred a day after the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ that took place at Pune’s Shaniwarwada Fort on December 31 and witnessed the participation of several intellectuals, Ambedkarite groups and progressive outfits.
Police sources said that all those arrested have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In April this year, the Pune police had carried out extensive searches at the residences of those arrested. Additionally, the police had raided the homes of four Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) activists — Harshali Potdar, Jyoti Jagtap, Ramesh Ghaichor and Deepak Dhengle — in Pune.
“This seems to be a premeditated conspiracy on part of the BJP government and the forces of law. Ambedkarite activists are arrested more than six months after the Bhima-Koregaon violence because they demanded the arrest of Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide ‘Guruji’, who is prime accused in the January 1 riots,” said Ms. Jagtap, speaking to The Hindu.
Decrying the government’s crackdown on progressive activists, she said that while Milind Ekbote — said to be the prime accused in orchestrating the Bhima-Koregaon violence — had been let out on bail, no move had ever been initiated to arrest the octogenarian Sambhaji Bhide.
Also read
Mr. Dhawale, an Ambedkarite activist and editor of the fortnightly magazine Vidrohi, was taken into custody for his role as a prime organiser of the ‘Elgaar Parishad.’
He is also one of the founders of the Republican Panther Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal (movement for annihilation of caste).
Mr. Dhawale was earlier booked under the UAPA in 2011 and spent more than 40 months in jail in Nagpur. He was acquitted by the Gondia Sessions Court in 2014 after the police failed to produce ‘significant evidence’ against him.
Mr. Gadling is an advocate noted for taking on cases on those accused of having Maoist links and has fought on behalf of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba among others.
On January 8, the Vishrambaug Wada police station in Pune had lodged an FIR against six KKM members, including five of those whose residences were searched on Wednesday, for making allegedly provocative speeches and presentations calculated to promote enmity between two groups at the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ as part of the bicentenary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.
The complaint had accused the KKM activists of making a number of “inflammatory” speeches and delivering “socially divisive” presentations during the course of the troupe’s performance and recitals at the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ which lasted nearly eight hours.
On January 3 this year, the Vishrambaug police had similarly lodged a case against newly elected Gujarat Assembly MLA Jignesh Mevani and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Umar Khalid for allegedly promoting enmity between two groups with their speeches at the Parishad.
Two FIRs were lodged against Mr. Ekbote — who is executive president of the outfit Samasta Hindu Aghadi — and Mr. Bhide, who heads Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, for orchestrating the riots which left one person dead.
Delhi resident among those arrested
With the help of Delhi Police Special Cell, the Pune Police arrested 47-year-old Rona Jacob Wilson, a resident of Munirka, for allegedly spreading controversial pamphlets among other charges. The case was registered in Vishram Bagh police station in Pune City.
Mr. Wilson was produced before Patiala House Courts which sent him to two day transit remand. He will be produced before a local court in Pune on June 8, the police said.
(With inputs from Hemani Bhandari)