Pune Police confirms Naxal link in Bhima-Koregaon violence

The five people arrested by the Pune police in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence have links with Naxals, the city's Joint Commissioner of Police said on Thursday.

"In the FIR registered against the accused on January 8, some were previously booked for having links with Naxals. We were investigating their links and in this connection, we raided houses of some of them," said Ravindra Kadam, Joint CP, Pune.

He further stated that no information has been confirmed regarding connection with political parties, if any.

"From Rona Wilson's house, we recovered a pen drive, hard disk and some other documents which were sent to forensics. We also got to know Rona Wilson's and Surendra Gadling's connection with Naxals. Later, we found their links with the other three people and arrested them accordingly. Surendra Gadling was presented before a court after he was arrested yesterday morning and we were given his police custody for 8 days. Other accused will be presented before a court this afternoon," he added.

The 200th anniversary of Bhima-Koregaon battle took a violent turn in January earlier this year, leaving one dead and several injured, including 10 policemen.

On a related note, all five accused arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence will be presented before the Pune Sessions Court later in the day.

(ANI)