Transfer of Bhima-Koregaon case to NIA to "cover up" falsehoods of previous BJP govt: CPI

Condemning the transfer of the Bhima-Koregaon case from Pune police to NIA, the CPI on Monday alleged that the purpose of the move was to "cover up" the "falsehoods and wrongdoings" of the previous BJP government.

The case was being probed by the Pune police and the Centre's decision to hand over the Koregaon-Bhima probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday came under severe criticism from both the Congress and the NCP.

"The National Secretariat of the Communist Party of India takes a serious note of the decision taken by the government of India to transfer Bhima-Koregaon case from Pune police to NIA. This is to cover up the falsehood and wrongdoings of the previous BJP government. At that time the then NIA had given clean chit to Pune police and allowed it to carry on with the investigation," said a statement from the Left party.

The party also demanded that the order of the central government must be withdrawn immediately and appealed to the state government to reopen the probe into the matter to ensure justice.

"The Party condemns the use of NIA for political gains by the central government," it said.

Violence had broken out near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune district on January 1, 2018.

Dalits visit the memorial in large numbers as it commemorates the victory of British forces, which included Dalit soldiers, over the army of the Brahmin Peshwa rulers of Pune in 1818.

The police had claimed that provocative speeches at Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, led to the violence and Maoists were behind the conclave.

They later arrested several Left-leaning activists including Telugu poet Varavara Rao and activist Sudha Bharadwaj for alleged links to Maoists.