Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra’s Pune district resembled a battleground on Monday evening as the administration threw a protective cordon around the small village in an effort to thwart a repeat of the violence that rocked the bicentennial celebration of a British-era war last year and left one person dead.

At least 20,000 police personnel were deployed as the government set up a control room, monitoring real-time intelligence from 350 CCTV cameras, some of them hidden, and diverted traffic from the arterial Pune-Ahmednagar highway. Police have denied permission to a number of religious leaders and groups for visiting the village, have externed 64 people and booked 1,211 people under preventive action.

The district administration expects at least one million people to show up on January 1 to celebrate the 201st anniversary of a war between the British army, which was manned primarily by Dalits, and the Peshwa, the erstwhile rulers of the region notorious for their oppressive caste practices. Bhima Koregaon is home to a victory pillar erected by the British on which is etched the names of the Dalit soldiers who died in the battle.

District collector Naval Kishore Ram said, “We have taken the help of different Dalit organisations and social organisations in traffic planning for the event. Alternate traffic routes have been commissioned since midnight and a necessary police force is on the ground to tackle any sort of eventuality. Besides, strong confidence-building measures have been undertaken wherein villagers and elected office bearers of village panchayats have pledged complete support for the event.”

The Pune rural police have also given permission to five Dalit organisations to hold their customary sabhas near the obelisk. Plain clothed police officials and senior intelligence staff have been camping in the Bhima Koregaon area for the past 15 days.

“We have brought additional forces from neighbouring districts. We have been closely monitoring social media and action has already been taken against those circulating provocative posts,” said Vishwas Nangre Patil, special inspector general (Kolhapur range).

The administration is keen to avoid a repeat of last year, when violence broke out on January 1 at Bhima Koregaon and nearby villages after unidentified people started pelting stones and set vehicles on fire. One person died in the violence and at least 40 were injured. The next day, Dalit groups brought Maharashtra to a standstill in protest.

The Bhima Koregaon violence has dominated headlines for much of the year, especially after Pune (Urban) police arrested five activists in June, and another five in August, for alleged Maoist links and fomenting the clashes. This time too, police have restricted members of Kabir Kala Manch, a left-leaning Dalit outfit, from visiting the ‘Jay stambh’ (victory pillar), because of their alleged role in sparking the violence. The police have also taken preventive action against those booked in all cases related to last year’s violence, including Hindu right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who have been restricted from entering the area.Bhim Army supremo Chandrakshekar Azad is expected to lead a rally today while BR Ambedkar’s grandson and Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar will be offering his tributes at the war memorial at 7 am on Tuesday.

“This year, adequate security measures have been undertaken by the state government. We are confident that the celebration will pass off peacefully for 2019,” said Republican Bharat president Akash Sable.

Prakash Ambedkar said that the government was raising the bogey of “urban naxalism” to take control of the Jay Stambh and make preventive arrests. “All this is being done as a nautanki (stunt),” he said.

First Published: Jan 01, 2019 08:47 IST