Pune: Pune police on Wedensday denied permission for Elgar Parishad event. Retired judge BG Kolse-Patil, one of the organisers of Elgar Parishad (2017), had planned to conduct the event in the city. Kolse-Patil had required to organise a cultural event at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch near Swargate on December 31. Kolse-Patil also wrote a letter his for the permission to organise the event.

Pune commissioner of police Amitabh Gupta was quoted by PTI as saying, “We have denied permission to the organisers to hold such an event in view of the Covid situation and law and order.”

In December 2017, the Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyaan, had organised Elgaar Parishad in Pune. On January 1, 2018, violence was erupted in Koregaon Bhima, in which one person was dead and many were left injured. Police in their investigation arrested number of activists, including organiser of Elgaar Parishad Sudhir Dawale.

It was also alleged that the event had been supported by several Left-leaning activists and Maoists. Several activists and academics namely Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj were arrested in the investigation.