How Maharashtra police averted major tragedy during Dalit-Maratha clashes

Policemen stand guard near vandalised shops following the violence during celebrations of 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, near Pune. Pic/ PTI

The Dalit community's bicentenary anniversary celebrations of Britain's victory against the Peshwas in the Bhima-Koregaon battle in Pune on January 1, which turned violent, could have been a lot worse, Director General of Police Satish Mathur has said. "But, prompt action by the police averted a major tragedy," Mathur added.

'We anticipated unrest'
The violent clashes between the Dalits and right-wing groups during the anniversary celebrations, which triggered state-wide protests, has been at the heart of the ongoing controversy. However, Mathur said that the situation could have spiralled, had the police not handled the situation "sensitively".

"We didn't allow both the big groups [of Marathas and Dalits] to come together at one place, preventing a major clash. The police timely intervened and prevented nearly a lakh people from crossing the bridge over Bhima river. We had to push them gently, or else, they could have fallen off the bridge, sparking a major stampede situation," the senior IPS officer said.

On December 29, tension had erupted between Marathas and Dalits in the Vadhu-Budruk region, a village 3 to 4 km away from Bhima-Koregaon area, over a dispute in history on the last rituals of the Maratha king and son of Shivaji, Sambhaji Maharaj.
Following the incident, the Maharashtra Police claim they anticipated a possible untoward incident on January 1 and accordingly, made security arrangements. "We deployed two companies of SRPF. The riot-control police of the entire range, senior officers, superintendent of police and tehsildar were also at the venue. So, saying that the police failed to anticipate the possible unrest would not be correct," Mathur said.

Satish Mathur, director general of police

Social media check
A senior IPS officer of the Mumbai Police told mid-day that around 50 objectionable, provocative, fake and morphed posts were also pulled down by the Social Media Lab (SML) of Mumbai during the entire Dalit protests and bandh. To avoid misuse of social media in spreading incorrect facts and rumours about the Bhima-Koregaon violence, the SML kept a close eye on the entire development. "Process of identifying those people who uploaded posts to create unrest is on and offenders will be booked soon," the officer added.

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