By Express News Service
MUMBAI: An activist who claimed to have witnessed the Bhima Koregaon violence, on Tuesday filed a plea in the Bombay High Court seeking action against police officials who briefed the media on the case against some prominent activists for their alleged Maoist links.
"Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Parambir Singh and other police officers, who were present at the press conference, disclosed crucial information with regard to the case. The police officers acted against the order passed by the magistrate court," the PIL said.
In June, police had arrested activists Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut while probing the alleged Maoist connection with the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31 last year, while last Tuesday, police arrested five more Left-wing activists, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navalakha, from different places in the country.
During the Press conference, Singh had read out letters purportedly exchanged between the activists. He claimed that the police had "conclusive proof" to link the Left-wing activists arrested in June as well as last week to Maoists.
Bhalerao’s petition has also urged the HC to direct the state government to take action against the police officers under Article 311 of the Constitution under which a civil servant can be dismissed for misconduct.
According to the petition, on March 19 this year, the Pune police had filed an application seeking permission to carry out searches at the residences of some activists.
Police sought for the application to be heard in camera on the ground that if the names of the accused persons were disclosed, then there was a likelihood that they would destroy evidence.
"The magistrate on March 19 allowed police's request for in-camera proceedings," the PIL, filed through advocate Nitin Satpute, said.
