free them all

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Ambedkar was a key speaker and president of the Elgaar Parishad, a conclave held at the Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017, ahead of the 200th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima.
During his cross-examination before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, senior Dalit leader and president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, Prakash Ambedkar, was on Thursday questioned about the funds used for organising the ‘Elgaar Parishad.’
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Also Read:
● Truth and dare in Bhima Koregaon (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)
● Bhima Koregaon Violence: Four Different Theories, but No Justice in Sight (The Wire / Jan 2022)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)
● What is the Elgar Parishad and who Oganised It? (SabrangIndia / Sep 2018)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Violence was reported in Koregaon Bhima area in Pune district on January 1, 2018, when thousands of Ambedkarite Dalits gathered at the ‘Jaystambh’ at Perne Phata in Pune district to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle of Koregaon Bhima.
… As per an order issued by the state home department, the commission has been given an extension of another five months till February 28, 2024. This is the 13th time that an extension has been granted to the commission since it was formed.
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Also Read:
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

If an extension is granted, the Commission’s next hearing will be a long one: From October 16-28, so as to complete the cross-examination of all remaining witnesses.
As the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry comes close to finishing its hearings, it faces a familiar roadblock: the end of its current term. September 30 is the last day of its functioning, till it gets another extension.
Read more

Also Read:
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

In his affidavit filed before the commission on July 24, Ambedkar had sought an inquiry into the alleged intelligence failure regarding the Koregaon Bhima violence
Dalit leader and president of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) Prakash Ambedkar deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday.
Read more

Also Read:
● Bhima Koregaon Violence: Four Different Theories, but No Justice in Sight (The Wire / Jan 2022)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)
● Saffron Conspiracy in Bhima Koregaon? – Fact finding report by Rashtra Seva Dal unearths insidious scheme to target Dalits (CJP / Jan 2018)

Imprisoned Voices. Booklet.

The Indian Express by Chandan Haygunde

During cross-examination by Jamadar, Nangare Patil said he had not visited the Jaystambh prior to January 1, 2018. As per Nangare Patil’s affidavit, there were inputs that some “Dalit Sanghatna” wanted to demolish Jamadar’s house located adjacent to the Jaystambh on January 1, 2018.
The cross-examination of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Vishwas Nangare Patil, who appeared before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry as a witness, concluded Saturday.
Read more

Also Read:
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 27, 2022)
● Witness Before Probe Panel Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots (Live Law / Oct 2021)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)
● Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jan 30, 2018)

Probe the role of orthodox Hindu bodies, their agents in govt in Bhima Koregaon violence: Prakash Ambedkar

27/07/2023

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

Ambedkar filed an affidavit on Monday, July 24, before the commission of inquiry set up to investigate the violent incidents of January 1 and January 3, 2018, a day after the Elgar Parishad was organised in Pune’s Shaniwarwada.
Nearly five years after the Bhima Koregaon violence in which one person was killed and several others were injured, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar called for an investigation to determine the role of orthodox Hindu bodies and their agents in administration to fuel the caste-based violence.
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Prakash Ambedkar Files Affidavit After 5 Years

26/07/2023

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Either this affidavit was prepared a long time back, or, Ambedkar has not been following the Commission’s hearings.
He was the main political leader to be associated with the Elgar Parishad, held in Pune’s historic Shaniwarwada on December 31, 2017, on the eve of the 200th anniversary of the historic battle of Bhima Koregaon.
The next day, after violence broke out near Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018, it was he who led the call for a state-wide protest bandh on January 3, which was heeded by all Dalit groups.
Yet, it took Prakash Ambedkar five years to file his affidavit before the commission of inquiry set up to investigate the violent incidents of January 1 and January 3, 2018.
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VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar raises issue of ‘intelligence failure’ in affidavit before Koregaon-Bhima Commission

25/07/2023

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Speaking to the media, Prakash Ambedkar said an inquiry should be done to find the level at which intelligence failure had happened so that the “loopholes” are known.
Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar called for an investigation to determine if the director general (DG) of the intelligence department had any prior information about untoward incidents happening in the Koregaon-Bhima area of Pune on January 1, 2018.
Prakash Ambedkar made this suggestion Monday in his affidavit filed before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry in Pune.
Read more

Also Read:
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 27, 2022)
● India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)
● Saffron Conspiracy in Bhima Koregaon? – Fact finding report by Rashtra Seva Dal unearths insidious scheme to target Dalits (CJP / Jan 2018)