Books related to revolution, uprising seized by Pune police from Kabir Kala Manch members’ residences
The city police had carried out searches in multiple cities on Tuesday against prominent Dalit activists,lawyers and KKM members in connection with the January 1 violence in Bhima Koregaon.
The Pune police search teams have confiscated pamphlets, books and written literature bearing the words Kranti (revolution) and Vidroh (uprising) alleged Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) members and Dalit activists while reacting to the early morning searches which took place at the residence of KKM members Deepak Dengale, Sagar Gorkhe, Sachin Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap on Tuesday morning.
When asked about the latest update on the searches, joint commissioner (law and order) Ravindra Kadam, said “ It will take more time and no new information is available.”
The city police had carried out searches in multiple cities on Tuesday against prominent Dalit activists,lawyers and KKM members in connection with the January 1 violence in Bhima Koregaon. The predawn raids were carried out by several teams of the Pune police at the homes and offices of various Dalit activists in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur where the police seized literature, books and documents from their residences.
The action came after a first information report (FIR) filed against Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) artistes was lodged in Pune for delivering provocative speeches during the Elgar Parishad held at the historic Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, ahead of the 200th anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon war.
The FIR was registered by a 37-year-old local builder Tushar Ramesh Damgud, a resident of Katraj, who submitted a recording of the proceedings of the Parishad before the police and sought action against the Elgar Parishad organisers. The complaint stated that the KKM members had performed songs and staged a play during the Parishad, which had spread hatred and disharmony among the citizens of the country.
KKM members including other Dalit intellectuals and activists have refuted the police action terming the police action as repression of cultural activism.