Inquiry panel visits locations seen in footage of violence
The two-member commission, headed by retired High Court Justice J N Patel and comprising former chief secretary Sumit Malik, is probing factors that led to the Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018, in which one person died and several others were injured.
Members of Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry
check the locations seen in CCTV footage obtained from Vadhu Budruk village. (Express Photo) MEMBERS OF the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Saturday visited the Jaystambh at Perne village along with various sites in Vadhu Budruk and Koregaon Bhima in Pune district.
The two-member commission, headed by retired High Court Justice J N Patel and comprising former chief secretary Sumit Malik, is probing factors that led to the Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018, in which one person died and several others were injured.
Pune Rural Police has submitted several videos captured by CCTV cameras from Koregaon Bhima and Vadhu Budruk villages from December 28, 2017 to January 1, 2018. The video footage is being used by lawyers for cross-examination of different witnesses before the commission.
The commission decided to visit some of the locations seen in the videos. On Saturday morning, Justice Patel, Malik, commission’s lawyer Aashish Satpute, Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray, and lawyers representing different witnesses first visited the Jaystambh, a military monument erected by the British government in memory of its soldiers who fought against the Peshwas, or Maratha forces, at Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 1818.
The Commission members and others then went to Vadhu Budruk village and visited the samadhi of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. They also visited the disputed tomb-like structure, which, according to the Dalit Mahar community, is the samadhi of Govind Gopal Dhegoji Meghoji, a 17th-century Dalit figure. They also visited the Vadhu Budruk gram panchayat and other spots.
Commission members verified the locations seen in CCTV footage obtained from Vadhu Budruk. Then, they went to the site in Koregaon Bhima where violence had taken place on January 1, 2018.
Marathas from Vadhu Budruk village believe it was their ancestors, the Shivale Deshmukhs, who had defied the orders of Aurangzeb and performed the last rites of Sambhaji Maharaj after he was killed by the Mughal emperor in 1689. The Dalit Mahar community, however, claims that Govind Gopal performed the last rites of the king. The Gaikwad family from the village claim to be successors of Govind Gopal.
A board with the ‘disputed history’ of Govind Gopal was erected by the Gaikwad family in Vadhu Budruk on the intervening night of December 28 and 29, 2017, and was allegedly removed by members of the Maratha community. This led to an altercation, which was seen as one of the triggering factors that led to the violence in Koregaon Bhima on January 1.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Ramesh Galande, who was the inspector in-charge of Shikrapur police station at the time of Koregaon Bhima violence, was also present during the commission’s visit to these sites.
Galande is currently facing cross-examination before the commission and is considered to be a crucial police witness, as the village of Vadhu Budruk and the Koregaon Bhima area, where violence had broken out on January 1, 2018, were under his jurisdiction.
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