Trouble for Jignesh Mevani, Umar Khalid: After cancelling Mumbai event, cops issue search warrant against duo; FIR filed in Pune too

After cancelling an event which was supposed to feature Gujarat Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and JNU student activist Umar Khalid, the Mumbai Police on Thursday also issued a search warrant against the two leaders, CNN-News18 reported. On Thursday, Mumbai Police had denied permission to Chhatra Bharati, a socio-political NGO, to organise the All India National Students Summit 2018 at Mithibai College Auditorium in Mumbai’s Vile Parle. According to Asian Age, Mevani and Khalid were supposed to speak on the Bhima-Koregaon violence.  Chhatra Bharati is the student wing of the socio-political group Lok Bharati, led by Maharashtra MLC Kapil Patil. Police on Thursday had also imposed Section 149 around Mithibai College to stop any unlawful gathering, reported CNN-News18. Several students belonging to Chhatra Bharti were taken into preventive custody who were protesting the cancellation of the event. These students were taken to the Goregaon and Juhu police stations, reported CNN-News18. [caption id=“attachment_4286901” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Jignesh Mevani. Facebook/Jignesh Mevani[/caption] Meanwhile, the Pune Police registered an FIR against the two leaders for their “provocative” speeches at an event in Pune on 31 December. A case was registered under Section 153(A), 505 and 117 of the Indian Penal Code. According to reports, Mevani and Khalid had attended the “Elgar Parishad”, an event organised to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima-Koregaon, at Shaniwar Wada in the city on 31 December. According to the complainants — Akshay Bikkad and Anand Dhond — Mevani and Khalid had made “provocative” comments at the event. Bikkad and Dhond, both locals, approached the Deccan Gymkhana police station with an application and demanded the registration of a case against Mevani and Khalid for allegedly promoting enmity between different communities. The complainant added excerpts from the speech by Mevani, “The (1 January, 1881) battle of Koregaon-Bhima can be a war of tomorrow. If they attack, it is time to retaliate, and winning this war will be a tribute to the martyrs. Crushing the new ‘Peshwai’ can be a homage to the heroes of the Koregaon-Bhima battle.” The alleged excerpt from Khalid’s speech,“If we want to win this war against the new ‘Peshwai’, we must carry forward the battle of Koregaon-Bhima. If we want to carry ahead the struggle, it cannot be achieved merely by electoral politics.” “I believe that people who fight for the public causes must find a place in the legislatures in Gujarat and Maharashtra, and also in Parliament. However, caste system can be uprooted only by taking the fight to the streets. The dominance of one caste over the other can only be destroyed by battling it out on the streets,” Khalid allegedly said. With inputs from agancies