Five Dalit activists held for Maharashtra violence
Mumbai/New Delhi, June 6 : In a multi-city pre-dawn operation on Wednesday, Maharashtra Police arrested Dalit activists and alleged urban Maoist sympathizers in the state and New Delhi for the January 1 Koregaon-Bhima caste riots, officials said.
Those arrested included Rona Jacob Wilson in Delhi, Sudhir Dhawale in Mumbai and lawyer Surendra Gadling, who has defended several Maoists, besides Mahesh Raut and Shoma Sen from Nagpur.
Wilson, 47, was nabbed from a south Delhi neighbourhood in a joint operation by Delhi and Maharashtra Police.
Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police Sanjeev Yadav said Wilson, a Jawaharlal Nehru University alumnus, was hiding in a DDA flat in Munirka near the varsity.
The Nagpur homes of Raut and Sen were also raided even as the police were reportedly contemplating invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against the accused.
Among the arrested, Dhawale is the editor of a Marathi magazine, "Vidrohi". Gadling has represented prominent Maoist activists including G.N. Saibaba and provided legal help to the Kabir Kala Manch that organized the Elgaar Parishad.
Raut is a former Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow and has alleged links with Maoist groups in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.
The arrested, according to police, had organised the Elgaar Parishad in Pune on December 31 last year to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the historic Anglo-Marathi battle between the British forces and the Peshwa Bajirao II.
The gathering was addressed, among others, by Gujarat Dalit leader and MLA Jignesh Mewani, former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, Chhattisgarh activist Soni Sori and Bhim Army President Vinay Ratan Singh.
A day later on January 1, there was the outbreak of caste riots in the Koregaon-Bhima which left one dead. A retaliatory Maharashtra shutdown call issued by Bharipa Bahujan Mahajan Sangh leader Prakash Ambedkar and other parties on January 3 also claimed one life.
Harshali Potdar, one of the coordinators of the Elgaar Parishad, said the arrests were "illegal... a ploy to victimize us and intended to save Sambhaji Bhide Guruji and Milind Ekbote". Bhide and Ekbote are Hindutva activists accused of triggering anti-Dalit violence.
Bhide is the founder-leader of Shree Shiv Pratisthan Hindustan and Ekbote is the leader of Samastha Hindu Aghadi.
Bhide was given a clean chit by the Maharashtra government but Ekbote was arrested in March for his role in the Koregaon-Bhima riots and later granted bail in April.
Leftist and Dalit groups staged protests in Mumbai and Nagpur and many activists condemned the arrests of their leaders.
In April, the Pune police raided homes and offices of these activists in different parts of the country and questioned them for their involvement in various activities.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
