Says SOP not followed in arrests of activists
AMN / NEW DELHI
The National Human Rights Commission NHRC today issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the state’s police chief, saying the standard operating procedure was not “properly followed” in the arrests of five activists on Tuesday in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence. The Commission asked the Maharashtra chief secretary and the director general of police to submit a ‘factual report’ within four weeks.
A senior official of the National Human Rights Commission said the notices were sent after the rights panel took cognisance of the media reports of arrests in multiple cities yesterday. These arrests are linked to a public meeting organised days before caste-related violence erupted at Bhima Koregaon near Pune on 01st January this year. The Pune police have been investigating the circumstances that led to violence at Bhima Koregaon in which one person died during the clashes.