E-Paper
State government grants 7th extension to Bhima Koregaon Commission till December 31
The commission has been given the last extension till December 31, 2020. The commission should file its report within the extended period
The Maharashtra home department granted the final extension to Bhima Koregaon Commission to complete its task and submit its report before December 31. It is the seventh extension granted to the two-member commission probing the January 1, 2018, riots at Bhima Koregaon near Pune. The previous extension ended on April 8 when the Centre had announced a nationwide lockdown, bringing the commission’s work to standstill.
“Through this government order, the commission has been given the seventh and last extension till December 31, 2020. The commission should file its report within the extended period,” stated the order issued by VM Bhat, deputy secretary, home department.
According to the commission registrar VV Palnitkar, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the commission and its staff are likely to face some problems especially while conducting hearings. “It has become difficult for advocates and witnesses to attend the hearing due to the fear of infection. The staff members have also expressed their fears about contracting the virus. The commission does not want them to come to office in such a situation and moreover, they are not government employees. Earlier, we had to postpone hearings during the lockdown and now the situation has aggravated further. We are finding it very difficult to conduct the hearing. We will have to think about the safety measures. We had requested for the Sahyadri guest and require more space to accommodate people based on social distancing measures and health guidelines,” said Palnitkar.
The two-member Bhima Koregaon inquiry commission, headed by retired Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Jay Narayan Patel, also includes former chief secretary and the present chief information officer of Maharashtra, Sumit Mullick as its member. VV Palnitkar is serving as the registrar of the commission. The commission functions with the powers of a civil court in two locations: the Public Information Office at Madam Cama road, Mumbai and the Zilla Parishad building in Bund garden, Pune.
The commission had approached the state home department after the last extension ended, but received no response from the government. During its last submission to the government, the commission has stated it was yet to examine 40-50 witnesses.
The people who are scheduled to appear before the commission before the lockdown were NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar; former Pune rural SP Mohammad Suvez Haque; former district collector Saurabh Rao; senior IPS officer Ravindra Sengaonkar and Rajendra Gaikwad, descendant of Govind Gopal Mahar whose tomb was allegedly desecrated at Vadhu Budruk.
Details of the commission
February 2018: Maharashtra government constituted the judicial commission to probe the Bhima-Koregaon violence which took place on January 1, 2018, during the event held to mark the 200th anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune district. One person died in the violence. The commission is also probing who, or which organisation, is responsible for the violence, and has to identify measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
May 2018 : The two-member committee visited the Vijay Stambh memorial and Vadhu Budruk village.
So far, 400 affidavits have been filed.
Activists of various Dalit outfits, Hindutva organisations and a few registered NGOs; residents of Koregaon Bhima, Vadhu Budruk and Sanaswadi; victims from Thane, Mumbai and other districts; suspects arrested by Pune rural police, including Milind Ekbote; accused in Elgar Parishad case have filed affidavits before the commission
110 affidavits have been filed by government by advocate Shishir Hiray, who is representing the state government.
