E-Paper
Pune Police do not give permission for Elgar Parishad to be held
The police have rejected permission on the grounds of Covid-19 restrictions
The Pune Police have denied the Elgar Parishad conclave permission to be held.
The conclave was scheduled to take place at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on December 31 from 2 pm to 7 pm.
The police have rejected permission on the grounds of Covid-19 restrictions.
“We have denied permission to the organisers to hold such event in view of Covid situation and law and order,” said Pune Commissioner of Police Amitabh Gupta.
The Akhil Bharitya Brahman Mahsangh had requested the city police to be “extremely restrained” while considering at request, moved by retired high court judge Justice B G Kolse Patil, seeking permission for the Elgar Parishad.
Besides Patil, several activists had also applied for permission for the conference.
When contacted, Patil’s number was answered by an attendant who said that he was addressing a gathering.
The former judge had claimed that the venue fees of Rs 40,000 had already been paid. He had said that he had already booked the hall, paid the charges and sought permission from the police for holding the meet.
“If the police don’t give us permission, then we will go to the high court to seek permission,” Kolse Patil had said.
Retired Supreme Court judge PB Sawant and retired justice Kolse Patil were the conveners of the Elgar Parishad held on December 31, 2017.
The next day, violence broke out in the village of Bhima Koregaon on the occasion of the bicentenary of the 1818 Battle of Koregaon Bhima.
According to the chargesheet, Maoist forces were behind organising the conclave and funded the meet.
As many as 14 academics and activists have been arrested across the country for suspected Maoist links in connection with the case, which has been taken over by the NIA.
