Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh seeks detailed report on Koregaon Bhima case

Anil Deshmukh, the senior NCP leader who is now Maharashtra’s Home Minister, said in Mumbai on Wednesday that he had asked for a full report on the Koregaon Bhima case and its present status, raising the possibility that the case could be reopened.

What Deshmukh said

“I have sought a detailed report on the status of the Koregaon Bhima violence; its investigation and aftermath,” he told reporters. Taking aim at the previous BJP government without naming it, he said it was wrong to brand people “urban naxals” simply for holding different views, and that the earlier government had set such an example.

His comments came after NCP chief Sharad Pawar demanded in December that a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired judge examine how Pune police had acted in the 2018 case.

Background to the case

Pune police investigating alleged links between the Elgaar Parishad event of December 31, 2017, and the caste violence near Koregaon Bhima, in Pune district, on the following day had used the term “urban naxal”. The city police arrested several rights activists, while the Pune rural police filed cases against two Hindutva leaders, Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, accusing them of inciting the violence. The Supreme Court gave Ekbote bail, and Bhide was not arrested at any point.

Gateway of India protest

Asked about a woman who held a “Free Kashmir” poster at a recent protest at the Gateway of India, Deshmukh said police were checking her background. He said he had also asked for a report on the FIR filed against protesters there. That protest ended on Monday.

Originally published on 9 January 2020. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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