Office of Dalit

Elgar Parishad

Kabir Kala Manch

Republican Dalit Panthers Party

Sudhir Dhawale

Damgude

Sambhaji Bhide

Prakash Ambedkar

Milind Ekbote

As part of a concerted drive across cities, Pune police swooped down on the homes of(KKM) activists across town, including the residences of some who participated in the Elgar Parishad, which was held in the city on the last day of 2017. The raids, the city’s top cop said, were in connection with the event held just before the Koregaon-Bhima riots, and a subsequent complaint linking the two.However, the leftist activists at the receiving end have raised questions about the manner in which these raids were conducted, as also them being carried out three months after a police complaint was filed. KKM members have further alleged that cops confiscated books and pamphlets randomly, simply seeking out literature on which words like ‘vidroh’ (uprising) and ‘kranti’ (revolution) were mentioned — and, they also damaged several books that were collected over years and kept carefully, they claimed.While Pune commissioner of police (CP) Rashmi Shukla clearly connected the raids to the Elgar Parishad, the chief minister announced that they were to crack down on Naxal activities at a countrywide level.At least six locations were tackled, with Pune police raiding the homes of three KKM activists in Yerwada, Pimple Gurav and Wakad; in Mumbai, theoffice and home of activistsand Harshali Potdar were raided, as was advocate Surendra Gadling’s Nagpur residence. The latter has given legal help to many leaders suspected of involvement in Naxal activities.An FIR had been registered by police against KKM activists and Elgar Parishad organisers, soon after a complaint was filed by one Tusharon January 8. The raids, however, are taking place in April.Elaborating on the events, KKM member Sagar Gorkhe said, “Cops arrived at my Wakad home at 5.30 am on Tuesday. There were eight in civil dress and six in uniform. They said they had to search the house because of a complaint against Elgar Parishad, entered and started scanning books. They had seemingly decided to target specific words and were randomly taking out books with ‘kranti’ and ‘vidroh’ written in them. They also snatched our phones — my wife Rupali’s name is not even mentioned in the FIR, but her phone was also confiscated.”KKM member Ramesh Gaichor added, “I live with my parents and my father has some health problems. So, when the cops arrived at our Yerwada home, I requested them to cooperate to not upset my parents, but they paid no heed and entered in huge numbers. They then collected books, Elgar Parishad pamphlets and our phones. My parents were obviously scared. It has been just a year since we were released from jail, and now this. They also raided the Pimple Gurav residence of Deepak Dengale, our KKM colleague, and took away the cellphones of all his family members.”Quizzed about the raids, CP Shukla only said, “Searches took place at six places in furtherance of investigations in CR No. 4/18 registered at Vishrambaug police station against KKM activists, for delivering provocative speeches and songs during Elgar Parishad at Shaniwar Wada on December 31 last year.”Contrary to this, CM and home minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis stated that the raids had nothing to do with the mentioned event. He said declared, “This action is going on at a national level from Central agencies. Some raids were also conducted in Delhi. These are in connection with keeping an eye on the Naxal movement in urban areas.”Elgar Parishad organisers, however, claimed this was all just politics, and an attempt by the government to divert attention from the real perpetrators of unrest. MN Kamble, city president of the Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh and organiser of Elgar Parishad, told Mirror, “These raids are clearly aimed at diverting attention from the real culprits of the Koregaon-Bhima violence. Cops had already conducted an inquiry in the matter and did not find anything against us. But despite this, the powersthat- be are targeting us and KKM once more. This is an attempt to avoid the arrest of Hindutva leaderand an attempt to create a rift, and destabilise the stronghold that the Dalit movement is becoming in its antigovernment campaign.”Mumbai-based Mahesh Bhartiya of the Samyak Vidyarthi Andolan said, “They confiscated laptops, CDs, pen drives and books on Rohith Vemula and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar from Potdar’s house in Govandi. What the CM is claiming is nothing but a lie. Why is this government so scared of Dalit activists?”Republican Dalit Panthers Party president Sumedh Jadhav expressed apprehension that police are likely to arrest many activists involved with the Elgar Parishad.Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh president— grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar — cited “harassment” and told PTI, “Police have arrested, but not Bhide. They must declare what evidence they have found against these (raided) people.”