Elgaar Parishad case: Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan demands release of Kabir Kala Manch members, seeks SIT probe

Last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Elgaar Parishad case, had arrested three KKM members, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap, for their alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist.

Members of the Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan held protests at the Pune District Collectorate on Monday against the arrests of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) members and demanded that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to probe the issue.

Last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Elgaar Parishad case, had arrested three KKM members, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap, for their alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist.

All three accused are also active members of the Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan, a body that had organised the Elgaar Parishad on December 31, 2017 at Shaniwar Wada, ahead of the 200th commemoration of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. Next day, violence broke out in Koregaon Bhima in which one person was killed and several others injured.

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The NIA has so far arrested 15 persons in the case under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan submitted a letter to the Pune district collector on Monday, demanding the immediate release of all arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case. The outfit has also demanded action against Hindutva leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, claiming that they are the masterminds of the Koregaon Bhima violence.

The group also claimed that the NIA probe into this issue is false, so the state government should constitute an SIT to probe the Elgaar Parishad and Koregaon Bhima case.

Last week, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had called a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the Koregaon Bhima issue. Top leaders and ministers from NCP and Congress participated in the meeting and the possibility of forming an SIT to probe the case was discussed.