Bhima Koregaon violence: Police raid houses of Elgaar Parishad organizers

Police on Tuesday raided residences of activists who had allegedly organised Elgaar Parishad - an event to mark the 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon.

The search operation was conducted at about 4:30 am in the morning and was completed within 7-8 hours.

Police authorities have seized various documents in connection with the matter.

Independent MLA Jignesh Mevani and Jawaharlal Nehru University PhD student Omar Khalid were also present at the event.

Earlier on January 8, an FIR was filed against the organisers of the event, which was held in Pune on December 31.

The raid was also conducted at the houses owned by members of Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural organisation formed in 2002 in the wake of Gujarat riots.

A house of an advocate, who is said to have links with Naxals, was also raided.

On January 1, the violence at Bhima-Koregaon left one dead and several injured, including 10 policemen. Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards Bhima Koregaon for the commemoration on January 1.

The police had filed 58 cases against 162 people during a state-wide shutdown in January following clashes in Bhima-Koregaon.