Organiser of 2017 Elgar Parishad denied permission for event

Pune police has denied permission for an event that retired judge B G Kolse-Patil, one of the organisers of the December 2017 Elgar Parishad, had planned to hold in the city, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Kolse-Patil had sought to organize a cultural event at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on December 31.

"We have denied permission in view of the COVID-19 restrictions and law and order situation," said city police commissioner Amitabh Gupta.

Kolse-Patil in his letter seeking permission had stated that the event would be about keeping democracy, freedom and Constitution "unrestrained".

When contacted, he said the organizers would move the High Court against the denial of permission.

The Elgar Parishad conclave, held here on December 31, 2017, became controversial as the Pune police alleged that the speeches made there incited caste violence near the Bhima Koregaon war memorial the next day.

It was also alleged that the event had been backed by Maoists, and several Left-leaning activists including Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj were arrested in the subsequent probe.