Pune police arrests 6 people in Bhima Koregaon violence case

Pune Police arrested six persons from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi with the help of Delhi Police Special Cell in connection with Bhima Koregaon violence on Wednesday.

The police arrested Rona Wilson, activist and Jawaharlal Nehru University alumnus and another activist Rana Jacob, both from Delhi. Sudhir Dhawale, a Dalit activist and office-bearer of Elgar Parishad, was arrested in Mumbai. Activists Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut and lawyer Surendra Gadling were arrested in Nagpur.

Violence erupted in Pune on January 1 when Dalit groups were marking the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in which the British defeated the Peshwas of Maharashtra.

Dalit leaders commemorate the British victory as it is believed that soldiers from the Mahar community were part of the East India Company's forces. The Peshwas were Brahmins, and the victory is seen as a symbol of Dalit assertiveness. Normal life was crippled in Maharashtra due to a bandh called by Dalit groups to protest the violence on the anniversary of a battle fought 200 years ago.

last month, a victim of the January 1 Bhima Koregaon violence in Pune has filed an application in the Bombay High Court challenging the bail granted by a local court to Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the case.

(With PTI inputs)