Cong to take Pune police to court over violence outside its city HQ

Congress leader and former mayor Prashant Jagtap said party workers were angry over the manner in which police granted permission to the BJP to hold an agitation outside Congress Bhavan.

PUNE: Congress has said it plans to approach the court against the Pune police over their handling of Sunday’s Bharatiya Janata Party agitation near Congress Bhavan. The party has also demanded that Pune mayor Manjusha Nagpure be named in the FIR, alleging that she was present and actively participated in the protest.

Cong to take Pune police to court over violence outside its city HQ

Congress leader and former mayor Prashant Jagtap said party workers were angry over the manner in which police granted permission to the BJP to hold an agitation outside Congress Bhavan. He alleged that police shut all three entry gates of Congress Bhavan, effectively detaining Congress workers inside, while allowing BJP workers to gather near the compound wall.

“The mayor was present at the agitation and delivered a speech while the protest was underway. We have proof of this, but the police did not include her name in the FIR,” Jagtap said. He added that the mayor’s position was meant to represent all political parties and not a single party. “Ideally, the mayor should stay away from such political protests. It is unfortunate that in the mayor’s presence, BJP workers resorted to stone-pelting at Congress workers,” he alleged.

Responding to the allegations, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said the police had no prior intelligence inputs suggesting that the protest would turn violent. “There was no information indicating stone-pelting or violence during Sunday’s agitation at Congress Bhavan. However, going forward, police will not grant permission to any political party to hold agitations outside another party’s office. Protests will also not be allowed outside political leaders’ offices or residences,” Kumar said.

Congress leaders, however, claimed that the commissioner’s statement amounted to an admission of failure on the part of the police intelligence machinery. They also questioned how stones were used during the clash, pointing out that the road in front of Congress Bhavan is a cement concrete stretch. “If there were no stones on the road, where did they come from?” a Congress leader asked.

Meanwhile, BJP city unit president Dheeraj Ghate rejected the allegations and blamed the Congress for the stone-pelting incident, claiming that BJP workers were attacked during the agitation.