Man arrested for ‘Maoist link’ by ATS named in Elgaar Parishad pamphlet; Pune police seek more information

Investigators said the name of Shankarrya Lingya Gunde, one of the accused arrested by the ATS on January 12, and his contact number was on a pamphlet titled ‘Chalo Bhima Koregaon Prerna March’, issued by the co-ordination committee of the Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan .

While the name on the pamphlet is ‘Gunde Shankar’, the cell number is the same as that of Shankarrya Gunde, said police sources. The pamphlet, along with details of the Parishad and other programmes, also has the names of Republican Panthers (RP) activists Harshali Potdar and Sudhir Dhawale.

Dhawale was among the five activists arrested on June 6 by Pune City Police for alleged Maoist links, in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case. The complainant in the case has claimed that the “provocative” speeches at the Parishad, a one-day conference, had triggered the violence in Koregaon Bhima the next day.

Police sources have claimed that some of the eight suspects arrested by the ATS were “involved in Elgaar Parishad”. “Gunde’s name and number even appear on a pamphlet. Also, these suspects had travelled to Koregaon Bhima by bus on January 1, the day the violence broke out. So, city police have got in touch with the ATS to study the documents and other details of the case,” said a police source.

Last month, a chargesheet filed by the ATS had said material — such as bill books of the Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan Rajya Samanvay Samiti, booklets, banners and pamphlets — were recovered from Gunde and two other accused, Satyanarayan Rajayya Karela and Babu Shankar Buchhya Wanguri.

The ATS had also arrested Krushna Lingya Ghoshka, alias Ajay Dasri, Ravi Rajanna Marampelli, Ramesh Gorayya Golala, Narsayya Laxmayya Jumpala on January 12 and Saidul Narsimha Singapanga on February 5. All of them were booked under sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 of the Indian Penal Code.

The ATS has claimed that the accused were members of the ‘Golden Corridor Committee’ of CPI-Maoist. In the chargesheet, the ATS said it has evidence that the accused collected money from the workers of a private energy company, in the name of a labour union, but supplied the funds to the banned Maoist party. The chargesheet also alleged that the accused were instrumental in organising a day-long strike at a power plant of the company, causing disruption in power supply to Mumbai on December 19 last year.

Police sources said some of the accused had close links with the Republican Panthers. One of them, Ramesh Golala, had performed protest songs with a RP team during an event held in Mumbai on September 2, 2016, to mark the first death anniversary of Maoist leader Sridhar Srinivasan.

Speaking to The Indian Express days before his arrest, Sudhir Dhawale had said Ramesh and others have been arrested on “false charges” by the ATS. “They are associated with the labour movement and were a part of the Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Prerna Din Abhiyan with us. The arrest of these labourers by ATS and searches on our houses are an attempt by this government to crush our movement and protect Sambhaji Bhide, the main conspirator of Bhima Koregaon violence,” Dhawale had said.

Hindutva leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote had also been booked on charges of orchestrating the violence in Koregaon Bhima on January 1. While Ekbote was arrested in March and released on bail later, police had said they don’t have sufficient evidence to arrest Bhide.