Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday said labelling people ‘urban Naxals’ for holding different views was a wrong practice of the previous government.
“I have sought a detailed report on the status of the Bhima-Koregaon violence, its investigation, and aftermath. Whoever disagreed with their views were termed urban Naxals, and this is wrong. The previous government had set an example in this regard,” the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader said, without naming the BJP.
The term, ‘urban Naxal’, was used by the Pune Police probing the alleged links between the Elgaar Parishad of December 31, 2017, and the clash at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district the next day. Five rights activists were arrested in the case.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar in December last year had demanded that a Special Investigation Team be set up under a retired judge to probe the action taken by the Pune Police in the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon violence.
Commenting on the Mumbai Police registering an FIR against a girl named Mahek Prabhu for holding a ‘Free Kashmir’ poster during a protest at the Gateway of India, Mr. Deshmukh said the police are checking her antecedents.
“It is being said that she was protesting the ban on internet in Kashmir. I have sought a report on the FIR registered against those who participated in the Gateway of India protest,” he said, adding appropriate action will be taken after going through all the details.
