Pune, Oct 9 (PTI) The Pune police have registered a case against 15 representatives of an ongoing agitation by aspirants of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) for allegedly organising the protest without permission, for obstructing traffic and violating prohibitory orders in the city.
The case was registered at the Vishrambaug police station against the representatives, including Pramod Patil, Akshay Kamble and Aniket Deshmane who have been associated with the students’ agitation, demanding action over alleged irregularities and removal of MPSC chairman Vivek Bhimanwar.
According to the complaint lodged by a police personnel, the police had initially granted permission for a protest on October 2 near the S M Joshi Bridge, subject to certain conditions.
The permission had been granted on September 26 after representatives of the students’ agitation approached the Pune Police Commissionerate on September 25 and sought approval to hold a protest at one of the three proposed locations — Alka Talkies Chowk, Ahilya Study Centre and the S M Joshi Bridge.
However, following a meeting between a delegation of student representatives and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on September 30, the students reportedly decided to suspend the October 2 agitation, stating that their demands had been accepted.
They subsequently submitted a written communication to the police, following which the permission granted for the protest was cancelled, the complaint stated.
Despite this, around 4 pm on October 1, the accused allegedly mobilised a large number of students in front of Indulal Complex on Shastri Road in Navi Peth without prior permission, the complaint alleged.
The police claimed that the protesters raised slogans against the MPSC and the Maharashtra government, obstructed vehicular movement and made provocative statements to mobilise the gathering.
According to the complaint, police officers repeatedly asked the protesters to disperse, and informed them that prohibitory orders were in force in Pune. The gathering allegedly ignored the instructions and continued its protest, resulting in traffic congestion and disruption of public order.
The complaint also cited prohibitory orders issued under the Maharashtra Police Act and Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, restricting protests and public gatherings in specified areas of Pune.
The police have invoked sections 189(2), 189(3), 189(5), 126(2), 223, 270 and 292 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.
The complaint names 15 representatives, including Pravin Mahadev Patil, Rishikesh Gangurde, Priyanka Chaudhary, Nitin Gite, Somnath Chavan, Omkar Patil, Gajanan Shelke, Ajit Kakade, Siddharth Panchange, Sanket Kanse, Siddharth Jambhulkar and Sahebrao Kshirsagar.
The city police once again issued a notice to the agitating students to vacate the venue and shift the agitation to the designated place.
NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pwar, who has been supporting the MPSC aspirants’ agitation, wrote a letter to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar seeking permission for the second time to allow the agitation to continue at the S M Joshi Bridge venue citing that police had initially allowed the agitation to take place at the location. PTI SPK NP
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