Dalit-Maratha groups’ clash in Bhima Koregaon claims one life

Violent clashes broke out on Monday between Dalit and Maratha groups in Bhima Koregaon, a village near Pune, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to four, The Indian Express reported. As many as 25 vehicles were torched and over 50 others damaged in stone-pelting.

Newspapers, quoting the police, reported that the violence resulted from an altercation between the two groups near the memorial of the 1818 battle between British and Peshwa forces.

The Hindu said arguments over hoardings resulted in stone-pelting, and individuals with saffron flags were reportedly seen stoning cars going towards the village. It quoted members of Bhima-Koregaon Shauryadin Prerana Abhiyan as saying that the clash was provoked by right-wing outfits.

“The successful conclusion of Elgaar Parishad at Shaniwar Wada Fort has irked several Hindutva outfits. We have strong reasons to believe that almost 3,000 right-wing activists were behind the clash to disrupt the Koregaon-Bhima celebrations,” Santosh Shinde of Sambhaji Brigade reportedly said.

The police confirmed that the body of a 28-year-old, who died after a thrashing, had been sent for a post-mortem examination.

“We have deployed heavy police bandobast even as tension continues in some areas on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway. We are hoping that by midnight the situation will be under control,” DM Saurabh Rao was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Reports in The Times of India and The Indian Express give the background of the celebrations, which take place every year but have caused a controversy this time.

Groups such as Pune-based Akhil Bharatiya Brahmin Mahasangh have termed the event anti-national, while last week the grave of a Dalit leader, who is said to have conducted the funeral of Shivaji’s son Sambhaji, was desecrated in the area.

Dalit groups are protesting in Pune and Aurangabad over the clashes.