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Journalism of Courage
Clearing Sambhaji Bhide in the Koregaon Bhima violence for which he was booked but never arrested, the Pune Rural Police has told the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission that it had found no evidence against him and was dropping his name in the case.
Bhide is a man with friends in high places, and a string of controversies behind him due to his speeches and statements. In his late 80s now, he was an active full-time worker of the RSS before he formed his own Hindu right-wing outfit, Shri Shivpratishthan Hindusthan, in the 1980s. Based in Sangli, he has followers running into a few lakhs across not just the state but other parts of the country.
In January 2014, Narendra Modi, then the chief minister of Gujarat and a prime ministerial candidate of the BJP, had attended an event at the historic Raigad Fort organised by Bhide’s outfit as a key speaker. Bhide also had links with the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thakeray, which have continued with his son and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and other Sena leaders, despite the Sena now being part of a coalition with the NCP and Congress.
Besides, several fringe groups have a liking for Bhide’s appeals to the Hindu pride through celebration of the legacy of Maratha kings Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Every year, thousands of youngsters associated with his outfits, calling themselves “Dharkari”, participate in activities like the “Gadkot Mohim”, where a mountaineering expedition is held to historic forts related to the Maratha Kingdom. Along with his extreme views, Bhide maintains a simple living. A bachelor, he walks with bare feet and often travels on a bicycle.
Leaders of both the NCP and the Congress are also known to participate in programmes of his outfit, such as the “Durga Mata Daud” event held in different parts of the state every Navratri.
If this makes him a public figure with links across parties in Maharashtra, Bhide is as well known for his controversial and often abusive statements. In 2008, FIRs had been lodged against him and his supporters for protests against Bollywood film Jodha Akbar; in 2009, members of his outfit were said to be linked to the Miraj, Sangli, riots which started over the erection of an arc depicting Shivaji Maharaj killing the Adilshahi commander Afzal Khan, during the Ganesh festival; in 2017, an FIR was lodged against Bhide and activists for allegedly obstructing a procession in Pune. This case is pending before the court.
In the Miraj case, police had later arrested a local NCP leader for masterminding the riots. Cases related to the protest against the Jodha Akbar film were dropped by the government.
Following the violence in Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, Dalit political activist Anita Sawale had filed an FIR naming Bhide and another Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, accusing them of instigating the violence, which claimed one life and left hundreds injured.
There were also allegations that Bhide and Ekbote had been seen in the Koregaon Bhima area on the day of the violence. Incidentally, as per police, that day, Bhide was actually present at a ritual related to the death of NCP leader Jayant Patil’s mother in Sangli.
On Thursday, while deposing as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who had earlier blamed right-wing forces for the violence, said he did not know Bhide in personal but had read about him through media.
Bhide has consistently denied any role in the violence and said he was open to any probe. He is currently hospitalised following an accident.
