Outlook / by Shweta Desai

The Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case began after caste violence broke out during a Dalit gathering in 2018 near Pune. It later turned into allegations of a Maoist conspiracy, leading to the arrest of several activists.
Last week, the Bombay High Court granted bail to prominent rights activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. The two were arrested on the accusations of being ‘urban naxals’ and linked to the banned CPI(Maoist) organisation. Of the 16 accused–including Wilson, Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, and activists like Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj–Father Stan Swamy died in custody while many others are out on bail. 
As of 2025, no charges have been framed against the accused, and the trial is yet to begin with over 300 witnesses to testify in the case. 
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Also read:
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire / June 2024)
▪ Bhima Koregaon: The process continues to clot as punishment as another year passes by (The Leaflet / Jan 2024)
▪ Bhima Koregaon Violence: Four Different Theories, but No Justice in Sight (The Wire / Jan 2022)
▪ One year of Bhima-Koregaon case: Part I | History of a 200-year-old battle and why it still matters (The Leaflet / Jan 2019)
▪ One year of Bhima-Koregaon case: Part II | Why Elgar Parishad spooked Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, the alleged architects of January 1, 2018 anti-Dalit violence (The Leaflet / Jan 2019)