The District Rural Police on Wednesday arrested Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence of January 1 this year. The Supreme Court had on Wednesday cancelled his interim bail relief.
Ekbote was picked up from his home in Pune’s Shivajinagar area Thursday morning.
Two FIRs were lodged against Ekbote, who is the executive president of Samasta Hindu Aghadi outfit, for allegedly orchestrating the riots which left one person dead.
The apex court quashed any further extensions of Ekbote’s bail relief after the State prosecutor submitted that he had not cooperated with the probe agencies, and had refused to hand over the mobile phone, claiming that he had apparently “lost” the phone.
He is to be produced before the Pune Sessions Court later in the day.
Police sources further said that Ekbote had been summoned at least five times for interrogation, but had not cooperated after one session with the investigating authorities on February 23.
Earlier on January 22, his anticipatory bail application was rejected by the Pune Sessions court and again by the Bombay High Court on February 2.
On February 6, the Pune sessions court issued an arrest warrant for Ekbote, who then moved the Supreme Court for interim bail the next day which was granted to him.
The Pune Rural police had booked him under Sections 307, 143, 148, 149, and 295 of the IPC, and the Prevention of Atrocities Act, based on complaints filed at various police stations on January 1.
Last month, while extending his bail relief, the Supreme Court had rapped the State government and probe agencies for their tardy progress in their probe against Ekbote, questioning the agencies’ claims that he was allegedly ‘untraceable’.
Published - March 14, 2018 01:56 pm IST
