Elgaar Parishad: Police officer who probed case files affidavit before Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry
Senior police officer Shivaji Pawar, who had investigated the Elgaar Parishad case in Maharashtra, submitted his affidavit before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Monday, advocate Shishir Hiray, who represents the state, said.
The two-member commission headed by retired Justice J N Patel is probing the cause of violence in the Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, in which a person was killed and several others were injured. The violence followed the Elgaar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017, a day before the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima.
Pawar, who was then an assistant commissioner of police with the Pune City police, conducted an investigation into the FIR lodged at Vishrambag police station against some of the activists involved in organising the Elgaar Parishad.
The Pune City police arrested nine activists for their alleged links with banned CPI-Maoist and booked a total of 23 people, including top fugitive Maoist leaders, in the Elgaar Parishad case. The police had claimed its probe expanded beyond Elgaar Parishad and various activities of the banned CPI-Maoist group across the country were revealed. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe in this case in February 2020 and arrested seven more activists.
In the affidavit filed before the commission, Pawar stated, “….all the facts regarding the incident with respect to the terms of reference required to be clarified before the Commission were elaborately covered by the Commissioner of Police and Additional Commissioner of Police, Pune city.”
Pawar said that the commission may call the entire chargesheet and record of investigation in the Elgaar Parishad case from the special court (NIA), Mumbai for perusal. He also stated that the case is pending trial before the special NIA court in Mumbai and further investigation is being done by the NIA so “it would be prejudicial in the interest of justice to lead evidence before the commission, on the points required to be adjudicated before trial court.”
“Commission will be calling police officer Shivaji Pawar for recording his evidence during the next sitting in Pune,” the commission’s lawyer Ashish Satpute said. Pawar is currently the deputy director (administration) of Maharashtra Police Academy, Nashik.
As per the Pune City police probe, the Elgaar Parishad was organised according to the strategy of the banned CPI-Maoist and the speeches delivered at the conclave and previous campaigns for the event were among the factors that led to the Koregaon Bhima violence.
Inspector General Ravindra Sengaonkar, who was the additional commissioner (south region) of Pune City police at the time of the Koregaon Bhima violence, had filed an affidavit before the commission on behalf of Pune City police in October 2018. With his affidavit, Sengaonkar attached a report given by Pawar regarding the Elgaar Parishad case probe.
Sengaonkar retired from service on Monday and is being cross-examined before the commission by lawyers representing various parties, including Elgaar Parishad case accused Harshali Potdar. A few months ago, lawyers filed an application seeking to examine Pawar saying that Sengaonkar had no role in the Elgaar Parishad investigation.
The lawyers also filed applications seeking documents and compilations filed by Pune City police before the Supreme Court, following a petition filed by Romila Thapar and others raising doubts about the probe and arrests made in the Elgaar Parishad case. The Supreme Court had rejected this petition.
The commission then passed an order stating that it was not concerned with the production of documents filed before the Supreme Court by the state of Maharashtra in the Elgaar Parishad case. However, it said, Pawar was an important witness and his evidence would help it in the view of certain terms of references and directed the state to file his affidavit.
