Mumbai: In what can spell trouble for Hindu right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote and Manohar Bhide, an activist, who approached the judicial commission presently hearing the Bhima-Koregaon riots case, has accused former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for protecting the duo, who, he claims, are the 'main culprits' for the violence. The activist has accordingly urged the commission to summon Fadnavis and call him for examination.
Activist Sanjay Lakhe-Patil, founder of Karmveer Pratishthan, has moved an application before the commission comprising of Chief Justice (retd) J N Patel and Sumit Mullick, former chief secretary of Maharashtra.
In his 15-page application, Lakhe-Patil has claimed that Fadnavis had named both Bhide and Ekbote as the 'main culprits' for the riots that broke out on January 1, 2018, in Pune's Bhima-Koregaon area. “In his statement, Fadnavis has not accused or named any Elgar Parishad or Urban Naxals as perpetrators of the violence. He has specifically named Bhide and Ekbote as the main culprits,” the application reads.
“However, in the present regime of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the police authorities have been investigating only the so-called urban naxals, social activists and professors for the riots. They have not probed the roles of Bhide and Ekbote,” the plea reads further.
While speaking with the Free Press Journal, Lakhe-Patil said that Fadnavis has taken a U-turn on his statements. “Initially he did not name any professor or activist and instead accused Bhide and Ekbote. But now, he is protecting and covering them and their representatives, who were on motorcycles with saffron flags in their hand at Bhima-Koregaon, on the relevant day,” Lakhe-Patil said.
Thus, to avoid this 'contradiction' in his statements, Lakhe-Patil has urged the commission to summon Fadnavis as a witness in the case and clarify the confusion.
“Fadnavis should be called as a witness on an urgent basis, as there is a clear contradiction between his statements in the legislative assembly, which were made while relying on authentic inputs from the police and the case of the Pune Police regarding the riots. Thus, his testimony would be reliable for the larger public interest as well as to arrive at a conclusion,” the plea reads.
