Bhima Koregaon case: 16 arrested, 1 died in custody, some got bail- a 2023 update
Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case: The 2017-18 Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case saw the arrests of eminent activists like Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navalakha, Anand Teltumbe, Stan Swamy, Vernon Gonzalves, and Arun Ferreira among others. Maharashtra Police had conducted raids in Pune, Delhi and other cities across India to arrest members of the Elgar Parishad, which they claim was funded by Maoists.
Activists, political leaders and even retired judges who had gathered at Shaniwad Wada in Pune on 31 December 2017, at the victory pillar in Bhima Koregaon village to commemorate the battle in which Dalit soldiers of the British Army defeated the Maratha Peshwas in 1818, were later booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for inciting violence. A total of 16 people were arrested for alleged Maoist links for inciting riots- Jyoti Raghoba Jagtap, Sagar Tatyaram Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu and Father Stan Swamy.
On August 29 August 2018, five eminent citizens—Romila Thapar, Devaki Jain, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande and Maja Dharuwala—submitted a joint petition to the Supreme Court challenging the arbitrary arrests of the August arrestees. As of 2023, of those arrested, some are dead, some have been out on bail after cases were referred to the Supreme Court of India.
Notably, in November 2022 special NIA court had sought another year of extension for framing charges, after activists had been arrested and put in jail for five years. Here's taking a look The 1818 Battle of Koregaon is of importance for
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