Pune: Bhim Army members detained for trying to stop ‘Ravan Dahan’ in Pune, released later
The outfit has been opposing the tradition of burning the effigy of Ravan on Dussehra, claiming Ravan was a symbol of humanitarian culture and an idol for various ‘Adivasi Bahujan’ (tribal and backward) communities.
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Fourteen activists of the Bhim Army were arrested on Thursday for allegedly attempting to disrupt a ‘Ravan Dahan’ programme in Lokmanya Nagar area at Navi Peth. (Representational)
Fourteen activists of the Bhim Army were arrested on Thursday for allegedly attempting to disrupt a ‘Ravan Dahan’ programme in Lokmanya Nagar area at Navi Peth. The outfit has been opposing the tradition of burning the effigy of Ravan on Dussehra, claiming Ravan was a symbol of humanitarian culture and an idol for various ‘Adivasi Bahujan’ (tribal and backward) communities.
As a preventive measure, Bhim Army’s Pune district chief Datta Pol was also detained on Thursday afternoon and released later.
The Bhim Army had earlier submitted letters at government offices and police establishments in various districts in Maharashtra, demanding action against such programmes. On Monday, the Pune unit of Bhim Army submitted a letter to the special branch of Pune City Police, claiming that burning Ravan’s effigy during Dussehra hurt the sentiments of members of Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes. It also asked police to deny permission for ‘Ravan Dahan’ programmes.
The Bhim Army also demanded that if anyone organises a ‘Ravan Dahan’, an offence should be lodged against the organisers under the SC & ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. Members of the outfit warned that unless such offences were filed, they were going to take to the streets and then the police administration would be responsible for any kind of law and order situation.
Police had denied permission for any agitation against ‘Ravan Dahan’ programmes in the city. But on Thursday, a group of over 100 Bhim Army members gathered at Lokmanya Nagar, where a Ravan Dahan programme, organised by a group led by advocate Ganesh Satpute, was scheduled to be held.
Datta Pol told The Indian Express, “Around 8 pm, Bhim Army members gathered at the spot… our activists shouted pro-Ravan slogans and also performed rituals to worship the king, who believed in equality and justice, but the history regarding him was distorted and he is being presented as a demon for thousands of years. Police personnel at the spot arrested 14 Bhim Army members, including six women, who were kept in the lock-up of Faraskhana police station”.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Suhas Bavche said the Bhim Army members had gathered “illegally”. “We had denied permission to them. Action was taken against them under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code. They were released later,” he said.
The outfit’s protests didn’t disrupt the ‘Ravan Dahan’, said Satpute, who has been organising such programmes on Dussehra for several years. “The programme went off smoothly,” he said.
In July 2017, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition filed by activist Anand Prakash Sharma and stated that it could not pass any direction to stop the burning of Ravan effigies on Dussehra. Sharma’s petition had said that burning of Ravan effigies was hazardous to the environment and it hurt the sentiments of some sections of society.
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