Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, 20 others face FIR for trying to drive wedge between two communities

The Faraskhana Police have booked far-right Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote along with twenty other persons in connection with a case related to driving communal rift between two communities. According to the police, despite a court stay on construction work of the shrine near Punyeshwar Mahadev Temple in Kasba Peth, Ekbote and other accused misled the citizens on the pretext that construction was in progress and performed a Maha-aarti. Besides, the right wing leader and his supporters distributed provocative pamphlets aimed at breaching peace and driving a wedge between two communities, police said.

Ekbote is the President of Samasta Hindu Aghadi, a right wing extremist organisation and was booked by Khadak Police along with controversial seer Kalicharan Maharaj for allegedly making provocative speech during a public programme at Natubaug maidan on December 19 to mark the occasion of the killing of Afzal Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The police in their complaint stated that the accused circulated misinformation on social media and carried out a Maha Aarti ( religious public gathering ) at the disputed spot at Pawale Chowk in Kasba Peth on the occasion of Mahashivratri. The other accused in the case have been identified as Sunil Sadashiv Tambat ( 53), a resident of Kasba Peth, Swapnil Arun Naik ( 36), a resident of Guruwar Peth, Mukund Marutrao Patole ( 62), a resident of Mangalwar Peth , Nandkishore Ramakant Ekbote ( 60), a resident of Revenue Colony, Shivajinagar, Yogesh Bhalchandra Walhekar (41), a resident of Shukrawar Peth, Kunal Ramkrisha Kamble ( 39), a resident on Navi Peth, Ravindra Rajendra Nanaware ( 33), a resident of Parvati Darshan,Santosh Kamlakar Angolkar ( 44), a resident of Dhankawadi, Dharudutt Vasant Shinde ( 52), a resident of Sahakarnagar, Dhananjay Maruti Gaikwad (51), a resident of Sadashiv Peth, Prashant Prakash Kamble ( 24) , a resident of Mangalwar Peth, Devisingh Mohansingh Dashana (18), a resident of Kasba Peth, Vishwajeet Dnyandeo Bhise ( 23), a resident of Hamal Nagar, Marketyard, Akash Prabhakar Mane (19), a resident of Chavannagar , Padmavati, Parth Jaiprakash Panchal (21), a resident of Narhe, Aditya Santosh Rajput ( 18), a resident of Narhe and Vaibhav Wagh. Milind Ekbote (65), Nandkishore Ekbote and Vaibhav Wagh were served notice and released by the police.

The Faraskhana Police in their report stated that the accused circulated divisive and communally charged messages , videos and invitation card on the social media aimed at appealing to the Hindu community, gathering people for a religious congregation. After the incident, Jt CP ( law and order ) Ravindra Shisve, Add CP ( West ) Rajendra Dahale, DCP ( Zone I ) Priynaka Narnavare, ACP Satish Govekar, Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Landge and Police Inspector Shabbir Sayed visited the spot where the incident took place.

Add CP Rajendra Dahale said “ We have lodged a case against Milind Ekbote and others for trying to disturb public peace and investigation is on in the case. He circulated provocative pamphlets on social media and indulged in spreading misinformation through which a rift could have been created between communities,” he told National Herald.

Shivajinagar based Ekbote is one of the main accused in Bhima Koregaon who was booked for inciting the clashes which took place between Dalits and Hindutva groups on Jan 1, 2018 on the occasion of bicentennial celebrations of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. He was arrested and later granted bail in the case.

In March 2021, a case under section 153, 153(a), 153(b), 295(a), 500, 501, 502, 120(b) and 505(1)(C), 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with several other relevant sections was registered with Kondhwa Police Station in Pune against him for allegedly making a video with the intent to disturb communal harmony after he addressed the predominantly muslim populated area called Kondhwa a 'Mini Pakistan' with sleeper cells. Ekbote made the provocative statement in a video voicing his opposition to the construction of Haj House in Kondhwa by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The former BJP corporator is also known to be an ardent supporter of cow vigilantism.