This is an archive article published on June 7, 2018
Koregaon Bhima violence case: ‘Everybody is asking questions, I just know he kept to himself’
Pune Police have so far arrested five persons for alleged Maoist links from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1.
Police outside the Nagpur residence of Professor Shoma Sen on Wednesday. She was one of the five arrested in connection with Bhima Koregaon caste violence case. (Photo: Monica Chaturvedi)
Sixty-two-year old Asha Jawahar Raut was woken up Wednesday morning by the door bell ringing incessantly.
Outside her home in south Delhi’s Munirka village stood a heavy posse of policemen from Pune Police and Special Cell of Delhi Police in civil clothes. “I looked at them and said oh, it’s you again,” Asha said.
The policemen earlier came to her house in April, looking for Rona Wilson (45), her tenant who stayed in a one-room set on the terrace. After a search, during which police seized Wilson’s laptop and some documents but did not arrest him, Asha was told he was in trouble over a protest in Bhima Koregaon.
On Wednesday, however, police arrested Wilson. “Everybody is asking questions. They are saying he is a terrorist. All I know is that he gave coaching classes and kept to himself,” said Asha.
Pune Police have so far arrested five persons for alleged Maoist links from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1.
Protesters block traffic on Western Express Highway near Goregaon in Mumbai. (Source: file photo/ Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
Wilson, public relations secretary of the Committee for Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP), has been staying at the one-room set since 2009. Saroj Giri, an Assistant Professor at DU who was Wilson’s batchmate, said Wilson completed MA from Pondicherry University and went on to complete MPhil from JNU in 1998. He had also started pursuing a PhD from JNU but did not complete it, he said. “I met Wilson a month ago. He was busy applying to foreign universities. One of the universities had accepted his research proposal,” said Hany Babu, Associate Professor, DU, who met Wilson at a seminar and has known him for six years.
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Asha said Wilson paid a rent of Rs 7,000, but they never carried out a tenant verification. Wilson hails from Kerala and has been associated with CRPP for the past six years, said advocate Balla Ravindranath, legal secretary of CRPP. “Wilson was in charge of coordinating seminars pertaining to political prisoners. He was actively campaigning for release of Professor G N Saibaba, political prisoners in J&K, Northeast and for rights of Adivasi communities,” he said.
As Wilson was being taken away, he gave keys to his room to Asha. “I will not let him inside again. We are old and cannot deal with such things,” Asha said.
A Delhi Police officer said, “After the initial complaint was registered on January 8, investigators from Pune Police found that Wilson was a fund provider. Searches were conducted at his house on April 17 and we seized documents and a laptop.” Police claimed that analysis of data from the laptop had shown that he had links with Maoists.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More