Mumbai: Barip Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar on Wednesday criticised combing operations by the police in the aftermath of the Maharashtra Bandh called by him and other Dalit groups. Claiming they are illegal, he said he would be seeking the intervention of the Bombay High Court.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Ambedkar claimed close to 3,000 people have been arrested across the State, including 125 in Mumbai. Sixteen of those arrested are minors, he claimed. “As far as we know, there is no legal provision for this action. We feel conducting combing operations on the pretext of law and order is wrong.”
Earlier this week, he had requested Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to stop the police action. “He [Mr. Fadnavis] had agreed to halt the operation. However, we have come to know that in certain parts of the State, police are continuing with the operations, and protesters are being arrested in Aurangabad city, Kolhapur, Khandar in Nanded, Nilanga in Latur and Kalyan, Chembur, Govandi, Powai in Mumbai. They were charged by the police with attempt to murder.”
Citing an incident in Khandar, Mr. Ambedkar said Jogesh Jadhav, 16, died of head injuries received during a lathi-charge at a school, which was also the centre for his maths exam. “No FIR has been filed yet in the incident. The post mortem report clearly states he died of head injuries. The Superintendant of Police and the District collector are not even willing to seize the lathi s as evidence.”
Mr. Ambedkar alleged that radical Hindutva elements had issued threats against Mr. Fadnavis, and demanded action be taken against the Pune Commissioner of Police and the Additional CP, SP (Pune Rural) and the Additional SP, as well as the head of the State Intelligence Bureau for failing to inform the CM about this.
He referred to a Facebook post by one Raosaheb Patil, who is allegedly a supporter of Sambhaji Bhide, president, Shri Shiv Prathisthan Hindustan, and one of two leaders allegedly responsible for stoking the violence in Bhima-Koregaon on January 1. He said Raosaheb Patil’s FB post the same day called the CM, Cabinet Minister Girish Bapat and former journalist Sudheendra Kulkarni ‘insects infesting Maharashtra’, who can be easily gotten rid of.
