The Koregaon Bhima Inquiry Commission, which is investigating the causes of the violence reported in the Koregaon Bhima area of ​​Pune district on January 1, 2018, has decided not to call Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a witness.
Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar reached the Commission’s office in Pune on Wednesday. He held talks with the head of the commission – retired high court judge JN Patel and its member – Sumit Mallik, who was the chief secretary at the time of the Koregaon BHI violence.
In June 2023, Prakash Ambedkar had submitted a letter to the Commission seeking the statement of Fadnavis, Mallick and Suvej Haque, the then Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, as witnesses in connection with the ongoing investigation into the Koregaon BH violence.
Koregaon Bhima Commission inquiry secretary VV Palanitkar said, “Ambedkar’s letter was already on record, so he did not submit a fresh application in this regard on Wednesday. The commission spoke to Ambedkar about the matter. The Commission has decided not to call the then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the then Chief Secretary Sumit Mallick as witnesses.
Speaking to reporters, Ambedkar said that when did he get the information about the violence in Koregaon Bhima to Fadnavis, Malik and Haque, and asked the commission to investigate why there was a delay in getting the information.
To this, Palanitkar said, “The Commission will ask Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hire to submit a reply on whether there was such a delay in informing the then CM, Chief Secretary and SP, Pune Rural about the violence in Koregaon Bhima.”
Meanwhile, the Commission has asked Prakash Ambedkar to submit his final arguments in the next hearing on January 17, 2025. Ambedkar also testified before the Commission as a witness. But on February 12 this year, SPP Hire resigned from the commission during the inquiry about the ‘Maharashtra Bandh’ called by him.
The Commission then took it on record that Ambedkar “walked out of the witness box protesting that the matter was not a matter before the Commission of Inquiry constituted only to look into the events of January 1, 2018.”
The state government constituted a two-member inquiry commission on Koregaon BH on February 9, 2075. Initially, the commission was given four months to submit its report, but the deadline had to be repeatedly extended to complete the work. According to the order of the state home department, the commission has recently been extended till February 28, 2025.
The commission has recorded the evidence of more than 50 witnesses, including Koregaon Bhima, villagers of Vadhu Budruk, senior politicians like Sharad Pawar, government officials including Suvez Haque, the then Pune District Collector Saurabh Rao and others. The Commission is currently conducting hearings in Pune. Lawyers representing various witnesses are making closing arguments to the commission.
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