Pune, July 4: Judicial custody of all five accused in Maharashtra's Bhima Koregaon violence case has been extended till August 2, 2018. Court has also directed to produce all the accused on next date of hearing. The police had arrested the five accused from Pune in May in connection with the violence.

After the arrest, the opposition parties raised questions on the arrest. The Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar during the 19th anniversary of the party slammed the government for arresting the people in connection with the violence. Pawar had said, “Some progressive people in Pune came together and organised the Elgar Parishad. Now, the government is arresting some of them and branding them Naxalites.”

However, the Shiv Sena criticised Pawar for making such comments and alleged him of playing “dangerous” politics. Through an article in Samana, The Sena said that this type of politics was “destabilising” social harmony in Maharashtra.

The clashes erupted when Dalit groups commemorate the 1818 battle as the East India Company's army consisted of Mahars, a Dalit community, who defeated the upper-caste Peshwa's forces. However, some Hindutva organisations had opposed the commemoration. Following the incidents of January 1,  Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar had given a call for state-wide shut-down on January 3, which too witnessed violence in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 04, 2018 04:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).