SIT probe in Elgar?: BJP opposes Pawar’s demand, govt cautious

While current home minister Eknath Shinde could not be reached, Pawar’s demand is likely to be dealt after vetting all options by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, with the Bhima Koregaon anniversary approaching

A day after the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar sought the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to re-investigate the Elgar Parishad case, Congress refrained from commenting while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed it amid signals that the government is taking a cautious stand on the issue.

On January 1, 2018, Bhima Koregaon had witnessed violence which police claim was “aggravated” after speeches given by activists in the city. (HT/PHOTO)

Pawar, while speaking in Pune on Saturday, sought the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to initiate a fresh probe into the Elgar Parishad case, claiming that the police have “misused” their power.

While current home minister Eknath Shinde could not be reached, Pawar’s demand is likely to be dealt after vetting all options by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, with the Bhima Koregaon anniversary approaching.

Two years ago on January 1, 2018, Bhima Koregaon had witnessed large scale violence which the police claimed was “aggravated” after speeches by activists at Elgar Parishad held in the city on December 31, 2017.

Pawar, seen to be the architect of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government, had termed arrest of nine activists in the Elgar Parishad case “wrong” and “vengeful”, saying he would speak to the chief minister to set up an SIT under a retired judge.

Pune police had in July and August 2018 arrested nine activists — Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao — in connection with the Elgar Parishad conclave.

Reacting to Pawar’s demand, Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, “It will not be fair for me to comment as I have not gone through the details of his statement.” However, he opposed the move saying that the investigation was vetted by the Supreme Court when the Elgar Parishad accused had to approach the court.

BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye, said, “There is no superior authority above the Supreme Court, which has endorsed the investigation carried out by Pune police. Such a demand by leaders like Pawar demoralises the police force.”

The police alleged that the conclave was supported by Maoists and inflammatory speeches made at the event had led to the violence at the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial in the district the next day.

When asked about the alleged plot to harm the Prime Minister, Pawar said the same can be probed too. “In public life, we face such life threats. Even I have received such threats, but never took them this seriously or booked the person under the Sedition Act.” The NCP supremo added, “The arrests are highly inappropriate… It is wrong to imprison the activists on the charge of sedition…The activists merely have literature on Maoist ideology which does not mean they were involved in such activities.”

Former director general of police (Maharashtra) Jayant Umranikar, said, “Police have to understand that they are answerable to the law of the land and not to the politicians. If they investigate on this principle, they will not be targeted. When the government changes, many times the direction of the probe for the investigating officer also changes. The investigating officer has to pursue the investigation legally. An important point is that these accused have been charge-sheeted. So challenging the investigation means challenging the court order.”