Warkari palanquins reach Pune on the way to Pandharpur

Amidst chants praising Lord Vitthal, thousands of "warkaris" entered Pune today carrying the palanquins of saint Dnyaneshwar and saint Tukaram enroute to the temple town of Pandharpur.

Both the palanquins will halt in the city for the whole day tomorrow and will proceed further on the journey to the temple town in Solapur district on Monday.

Sambhaji Bhide, the founder of Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan, made an appearance along with his followers which kept the city police on their toes.

Last year, Bhide and his followers were booked by the police for allegedly "obstructing" the waari (procession) and shouting slogans.

In view of this, Pune police had issued notice to the Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan functionaries asking them to desist from obstructing the waari.

The notice also asked members of the group to not possess weapons or create law and order problems.

The Trust of saint Dnyaneshwar, in Alandi in Pune, had written to the police asking to ensure that no one disrupted the waari here.

Members of Bhide's outfit said they paid obeisance to both the palanquins in Shivajinagar.

Bhide is accused of instigating the violence against Dalits during the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in January 1 this year. He has denied the allegation.