Bhima Koregaon case: Shiv Sena leader says evidence against arrested activists submitted, judicial commission to decide further action

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar on Friday said that all the evidence against the activists held in Bhima Koregaon case has already been submitted to the court. He said the judicial commission probing the Bhima Koregaon violence case can examine the evidence (against the activists). [caption id=“attachment_5648561” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] His statement comes over a month after NCP chief Sharad Pawar demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be set up under a retired judge to probe the action taken by Pune police against activists in the Elgar Parishad case. He had termed the police action as “wrong” and “vengeful”. Talking to PTI on Friday, Kesarkar, who was Minister of State for Home in the previous Devendra Fadnavis government, said, “A judicial commission is probing the Koregaon Bhima violence case. All the evidence against the activists in the Elgar Parishad case has already been submitted to the court.” The state government had set up the judicial commission under former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, JN Patel, to inquire into the violence that took place during the 200th commemoration of the battle of Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018. “The judicial commission can check if the evidence submitted to the court is correct or not,” Kesarkar said. According to Pune police, the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, was supported by Maoists and inflammatory speeches made at the event led to caste violence at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in the district the next day. The Left-leaning activists arrested during the probe had links with Maoists, the Pune police had claimed. They had booked the activists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Pune Police had 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 Elgar Parishad case.