Nawab Malik hints at parallel inquiry by Maharashtra govt in Bhima Koregaon case

Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik on Monday hinted that the state government may carry out a parallel inquiry in Bhima Koregaon case and asserted that Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh will take a decision over forming a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

"The decision of handing over Bhima Koregaon case to NIA was taken. In Section 10 of the NIA Act, there is a provision that the state government can do parallel inquiry. Our Home Minister will make a decision soon, over forming the SIT," Malik told reporters here.

"From day one, we are firm on our stand, Bhima Koregaon violence was pre-planned and was done BJP only... The state government will carry out a parallel inquiry in Bhima Koregaon case through SIT...Our Home Minister will make a decision soon, over forming the SIT," Malik told ANI.

Earlier, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had said that the Maharashtra government's alleged decision to transfer the Bhima-Koregaon case to the Centre is "constitutionally wrong" as the investigation of crime falls under state's jurisdiction.

On January 1, 2018, violence had erupted during the 200th-anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle. One person lost his life while several others were injured in the incident. Police had filed 58 cases against 162 people.

A Sessions Court on Friday passed an order in Bhima Koregaon case, transferring all records and further proceedings of the case to Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court, Mumbai.

All the accused in the case will be produced before the special court of NIA in Mumbai on February 28.

The NIA had filed a petition in Pune's Sessions Court on January 29 seeking transfer of the case to the agency's court in Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government had also filed an application before the court, had objected to transferring all the court records, seized articles from the file of this court to an NIA court in Mumbai.

Commenting over former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's challenge for re-election, Malik said: "Leaders of BJP have a disease of being in power. If polls are being held, BJP will suffer defeat even more devastating than Delhi. They don't like to be in Opposition. They dream all day to be in the government. We advised them to get checked through a good doctor."

The minister also said that leaders from NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena will together and will take a decision on the National Population Register (NPR) soon.