New Delhi, June 6: Five Dalit activists were arrested by Maharashtra's Pune police on Wednesday for alleged links to the Maoist elements. The apprehended activists had organised the Elgar Parishad on December 31-January 1 in Bhima-Koregaon, which led to violent clashes between a section of Dalit and Maratha communities.

Among the detainees include Rona Wilson, an activist and alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was nabbed by a team of Pune police from Delhi. Activists Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut were nabbed from Nagpur, along with lawyer Surendra Gadling, whereas, Dalit leader Sudhir Dhawale, who was the prime organiser of Elgar Parishad, was held in Mumbai.

Dalit rights' activist and independent legislator in Gujarat assembly, Jignesh Mevani lashed out at the BJP-led Maharashtra government following the arrests, calling it an "attack on the Ambedkarite movement".

The five arrested today have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. An official privy to the matter, while speaking to reporters, said the police was able to establish "clear links" between the arrested activists and Naxal elements in the state.

While the activists were earlier booked for their alleged inflammatory speeches at Elgar Parishad which incited the violence, the official said an investigation over the past few months has brought to fore a "deeper conspiracy" involving the left-wing extremists.

The Elgar Parishad, held at the onset of New Year, was observed to commemorate the 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon battle, when the Mahar regiment of British Army had defeated the Peshwas. The Mahar regime, historians claim, comprised of soldiers from the Mahar community -- a Dalit caste to which Dr BR Ambedkar also belonged.

Apart from booking the organisers of Elgar Parishad, the Pune police had also booked Hindutva activists Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide. The FIR also named Jignesh Mevani for delivering an "inflammatory speech" at the gathering.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2018 12:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).