en | 15 min | 2018
The Leaflet / By KRITIKA A
Advocate Susan Abraham was one among the rights activists whose house was raided on the morning of August 28. She talks to The Leaflet about the raids, their connection to the Bhima Koregaon chain of events and the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act which has been used to incarcerate the rights activists.
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The Wire / Sukanya Shantha
Victims of the violence have alleged that the commission is treating them like criminals rather than witnesses.
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The Caravan / By Tusha Mittal
The Caravan publishes report of police-appointed committee, headed by Dhende, that finds Hindutva outfits “pre-planned” the Bhima Koregaon violence.
On 1 January this year, Dalits from across India gathered in Bhima Koregaon, a village 30 kilometers from Pune, to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of a historic battle that took place in the village in 1818. The battle had culminated in the victory of a small British battalion, largely comprising soldiers from the oppressed Mahar caste, over an army of dominant-caste Peshwas. On the 200th anniversary, as lakhs marched towards the Koregaon Ranstambh, or Vijay Stambh—a memorial pillar erected by the British to commemorate the battle—mobs of people carrying saffron flags attacked the predominantly Dalit gathering.
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The Leaflet / By Kritika A
The arrests of human rights activists and lawyers on August 28 and earlier on June 6, 2018 are all part of a wider theatre of Hindutva’s state-sponsored repression on those demanding democratic rights and freedoms for the most marginalised of Indian citizens. What began with Bhima-Koregaon had actually begun long back, with the atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis crossing the political threshold, such as those in Una and Saharanpur, as well as the ‘institutional murder’ of Rohith Vemula in January 2016.
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Sanhati / By Stan Swamy
Maharashtra police held a press conference in Mumbai on August 31, 2018. Additional Director-General (law and order) of Maharashtra police Mr. Parambir Singh told the media that in relation to the incident of Bhima-Koregaon, initially a FIR was lodged on January 8, 2018. According to him the name of Stan Swamy was added in the aforesaid FIR on August 23 along with the names of Arun Fereira, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalvez, Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde.
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CJP / by CJP-Team
On December 31, 2017 a fiercely passionate gathering of activists, former judges and political leaders proclaimed their commitment to fight the repressive economic, social and cultural policies of the Modi regime. This was the Elgar Parishad that preceded the gathering at Bhima Koregain on January 1, 2018 where Dalit families were attacked and assaulted by the ‘Sangh’ brigade.
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Scroll.in / by Mridula Chari
One of the two secretaries general of Forum for Integrated National Security is Seshadri Chari, a senior member of the RSS and the BJP.
A report released by a security think-tank in March into caste violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1 had foreshadowed the turn taken by the police investigation into the events. The report pinned the blame for the violence on a Maoist conspiracy – a conclusion that bears striking resemblance to the claims the Pune police has subsequently made in court.
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Scroll.in / by Shone Satheesh
In six tents packed to the brim, approximately 35,000 people watched plays, and listened to music and speeches with an anti-caste theme.
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The Print / by PTI
Police in Pune have accused the activists of having Maoist links. They had earlier booked a duo with Hindutva affiliations.
Pune: The Pune Police today arrested five people allegedly having close Maoist links, including prominent Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1.
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Youth Ki Awaaz / By Varsha Torgalkar
On June 6, six months after the FIR with regards to violence at Bhima Koregaon was filed, Pune police arrested five activists – Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut and Surendra Gadling from Nagpur, Sudhir Dhawale from Mumbai and Rona Wilson from Delhi – stating alleged links of the Elgar Parishad with Maoists. However, Ravindra Kadam, Joint Commissioner of Police, Pune, said, “Whether speeches made at Elgar caused violence or not is yet to be investigated.”
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