Koregaon-Bhima probe panel asks IPS officer Vishwas Patil to appear before it on Feb 25
MUMBAI: The Koregaon-Bhima Inquiry Commission on Friday asked IPS officer Vishwas Patil to appear before it on February 25 to record his evidence in connection with the January 2018 violence at a war memorial in Pune.
Patil, who is the joint police commissioner (law & order) in Mumbai, was the special inspector general of police (Kolhapur Range) at the time of the incident.
The two-member probe commission of retired chief justice of the Calcutta High Court J N Patel and former Maharashtra chief secretary Sumit Mullick is conducting a probe into the matter.
Advocate for the judicial inquiry commission Aashish Satpute on Friday moved an application seeking Patil's personal appearance to record his evidence before the commission in the "interest of justice".
Accepting the plea, the commission issued summons to the IPS officer and asked him to appear before it on February 25. Meanwhile, then Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla recorded her evidence before the commission on Friday.
According to the Pune police, violence broke out between caste groups near the war memorial during the bicentennial anniversary of the 1818 battle of Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018. Dalit organisations commemorate the victory of the East India Company over the Peshwa of Pune in the battle because the British forces included soldiers from the oppressed Mahar community.
But some right-wing organisations had opposed the celebration, leading to the violence in 2018. One person had died and several others, including 10 police personnel, were injured in the incident.