The Pune rural police have issued notices to 163 persons, including Samasta Hindu Aghadi president Milind Ekbote and right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide barring them from entering Pune district ahead of the 202nd anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2020.
Sandip Patil, Pune rural SP, said, “Ekbote and Bhide are among the 163 persons against whom notices have been issued and they are barred from Pune district. The notices have been given as a part of preventive action taken by the police against whom cases have been lodged in connection with the violence at Bhima Koregaon in 2018.”
Besides these two names, police as part of preventive measures have served notices to left-leaning Dalit outfit Kabir Kala Manch members, some of whom were booked for provocative speeches during Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017.
Naval Kishore Ram, Pune district collector, said, “The action has been taken against many persons whose names figure in the police list as those responsible for the violence in Bhima Koregaon in 2018.”
Ekbote and Bhide were named in the first information report (FIR) related to violence at Bhima Koregaon and charged with instigating and orchestrating violence during the bicentenary celebrations of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. Later, the police had arrested Ekbote, who was eventually released on bail. As a part of preventive measures, last year too, names of Bhide and Ekbote had figured on the list of people who were ordered by the police to remain outside the Pune district on January 1.
{{/usCountry}}Ekbote and Bhide were named in the first information report (FIR) related to violence at Bhima Koregaon and charged with instigating and orchestrating violence during the bicentenary celebrations of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. Later, the police had arrested Ekbote, who was eventually released on bail. As a part of preventive measures, last year too, names of Bhide and Ekbote had figured on the list of people who were ordered by the police to remain outside the Pune district on January 1.
{{/usCountry}}Violence in Bhima Koregaon had killed one
-Violence broke out during the bicentenary celebrations of Bhima Koregaon battle on January 1, 2018, in which one person was killed. Milind Ekbote, who was arrested in March 2018 in connection with the violence and was later granted bail by the Supreme Court. Sambhaji Bhide was booked in the case, but not arrested.
-A coalition of 260 organisations under the umbrella of ‘Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyaan’ had organised the conclave on December 31, 2018, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon battle.
In 2019
Over 10 lakh Dalits attended the 201st commemoration event on January 1, 2019.
Battle of Bhima Koregaon
According to the Dalit narrative, the 1818 battle is the victory over casteism as the British Army comprising a large contingent of Dalit Mahar soldiers had defeated the forces of Peshwas at Bhima Koregaon. Later, a ‘Vijay stambh’ was erected by the British as a memorial for soldiers killed in the Bhima Koregaon battle on January 1, 1818.