Koregaon-Bhima panel's term extended, funds released: govt

The judicial commission conducting inquiry into the 2018 Koregaon-Bhima caste violence has been given a two-month extension and salaries of its staff have been released, the Maharashtra government said on Saturday.

The commission, comprising former Calcutta high court chief justice J N Patel and IAS officer Sumit Mullick, had written to the government saying it was facing a funds crunch.

"The commission has been given an extension of two months. The finance department has released honorarium of commission members and thesalaries of staff," state home minister Anil Deshmukh said.

The term of the commission was to end on February 8.

According to an official statement, the commission has been given five extensions so far.

The commission had written to the state Chief Secretary on Friday saying that the government had not paid salaries of its staff for the last two months.

"The circumstances indicate that the government is not serious about the commission. The commission is unable to function for want of money even for day-to-day expenses," it had said, adding that the government should rather wind up the panel in such a situation.

Violence broke out near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune district on January 1, 2018, during the bicentennial celebration of the 1818 battle between the British East India Company and the Peshwa of Pune.

Dalits commemorate the victory of the East India Company's forces, which included soldiers from the Mahar community, over the army of the Brahmin Peshwa.

Pune Police had claimed that inflammatory statements made a day earlier at Elgar Parishad conclave, allegedly backed by Maoists, led to the violence near the memorial.