MUMBAI: Pune police registered an FIR against 15 students for unlawful protest over paper leak and removal of Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) chairman Vivek Bhimanwar.
The Pune police alleged that the protesting civil and competitive service exam aspirants’ demonstration violated prohibitory orders despite the cancellation of permission for their planned agitation. Police alleged that the protesting students are blocking and obstructing the traffic in Pune and causing inconvenience to nearby citizens.
The FIR has been registered against students who include Pramod Patil, Akshay Kamble, Aniket Deshmane, Pravin Mahadev Patil, Rishikesh Gangurde, Priyanka Chaudhary, Nitin Gite, Somnath Chavan, Omkar Patil, Gajanan Shelke, Ajit Kakade, Siddharth Panchange, Sanket Kanse, Siddharth Jambhulkar, and Sahebrao Kshirsagar. The accused have been booked under Sections 189(2), 189(3), 189(5), 126(2), 223, 270 and 292 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Sections 37(1), 37(3), 135, 112 and 117 of the Maharashtra Police Act.
Surprisingly, the NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who is leading and extending support to protesting students, has been missing from the FIR.
According to the police, the students had initially sought permission to hold a protest near the S.M. Joshi Bridge on October 2. However, after a delegation of students met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on September 30 and received a positive response to their demands, the organisers informed the Pune Police Commissioner’s Office in writing that the proposed agitation had been postponed. The police subsequently cancelled the permission granted for the demonstration.
Despite this, a group of students allegedly assembled on a public road in front of Indulal Complex in the Navi Peth area at around 4 pm on October 1 and raised slogans against the MPSC and the Maharashtra government.
The Police personnel from Pune’s Vishrambaug police station reached the protesting students' spot and instructed the protesters to disperse and pursue their demands through lawful means. The protesters were also informed about the prohibitory orders in force in Pune city and the cancellation of permission for the planned demonstration.
The students had submitted a representation to the Pune Police Commissioner’s Office on September 25, seeking permission to hold a demonstration. They had proposed three possible venues: Alka Talkies Chowk, Ahilya Abhyasika, and the S.M. Joshi Bridge. Following discussions, permission was granted for a protest near the S.M. Joshi Bridge on October 2 at 10 am, subject to certain conditions.