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Two Pune students booked for performance ‘glorifying’ Naxal leader
The incident took place on April 11 at the Late Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Government Hostel on Alandi Road, where students had organised an event to mark Ambedkar’s birth anniversary
Two students from a state government-run hostel in Vishrantwadi in Pune have been booked for dancing to a song believed to glorify slain Maoist commander Madvi Hidma. The incident took place during a cultural programme to mark the birth anniversary of national leader and Dalit champion, Dr BR Ambedkar, observed on April 14.
The incident, however, took place on April 11 at the Late Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Government Hostel on Alandi Road, where students had organised an event to mark Ambedkar’s birth anniversary, police said. A first information report (FIR) was registered on April 15 at Vishrantwadi police station based on a complaint by police sub-inspector Shabbir Shaikh.
Police said the two accused, aged 22 and 23, are undergraduate BBA (CA) students from Gadchiroli district and residents of the hostel. They have been booked under sections 197(1) (promoting enmity), 353 (statements conducive to public mischief) and 3(5) (common intention) of the BNS.
According to the FIR, the students, along with others, were dancing to the song “O Re Bandook Wala”, which allegedly praises Hidma, a senior commander of the banned CPI (Maoist) and its armed wing, the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). Police said the act could be construed as promoting content prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of the country.
Hidma, 51, who was linked to several deadly attacks on security forces and carried a bounty of ₹1 crore, was killed in an encounter in Andhra Pradesh in November 2025.
The controversy surfaced after a video of the performance was circulated on social media, drawing objections from right-wing groups. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged protests, alleging that the act amounted to support for Maoist ideology.
Right-wing activist Tushar Damgude and BJP leader Medha Kulkarni also criticised the incident and demanded a probe into the possible ideological influence behind such performances.
Senior police inspector Mangesh Hande said an investigation is underway. “Two students have been booked for performing to a song linked to Madvi Hidma. Further inquiry will be conducted,” he said. Detailed questioning will begin after the students’ ongoing examinations conclude.
Officials from the state social welfare department, which runs the hostel, said the students may not have been aware of the song’s background. “They selected the song based on social media trends and to showcase tribal culture. They did not know its alleged associations beforehand,” said assistant commissioner Vishal Londhe.
Police said around 11 students participated in the performance and are examining whether there was any deliberate intent. The hostel houses around 1,000 students from across the state, many from tribal and Scheduled Caste communities.
