Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission not given Mumbai office by Maha govt, to function from only Pune

The commission is headed by former High Court Chief Justice J N Patel. Former state chief secretary and former chief information commissioner Sumit Mullick is its member. The government had provided the commission space in Pune for hearings and administrative work but since some of the witnesses were in Mumbai, the commission used to function from the metropolis as well.

Mumbai:The two-member inquiry commission probing the 2018 Koregaon Bhima violence said on Friday it would be functioning only from its Pune office henceforth as the Maharashtra government could not provide it premises in Mumbai for administrative work. The Maharashtra government had set up the commission in February 2018 to conduct an inquiry into the violence that broke out on January 1, 2018 in Pune after the Elgar Parishad conclave a day earlier.

The commission is headed by former High Court Chief Justice J N Patel. Former state chief secretary and former chief information commissioner Sumit Mullick is its member. The government had provided the commission space in Pune for hearings and administrative work but since some of the witnesses were in Mumbai, the commission used to function from the metropolis as well.

"The commission was never granted premises in Mumbai by the government. We used to work from the office of Mullick," the commission's secretary Palnitkar Vishram told PTI. The commission used to occupy Mullick's office premises for its administrative work and conduct hearings at the Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai provided by the government.

"Since Mullick was to retire on April 12, the commission wrote a letter to the government seeking allotment of work space. However, the government said there was no premises available and asked the commission to look for some rented space in Mumbai," he added. Hence, the commission will now carry out all its administrative work from Pune.

In a press note issued on Friday, the commission said, "This is to inform all concerned with the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry that the Commission has closed its Mumbai office with effect from June 15, 2023 and it will function only from its Pune office." The commission's lawyer Ashish Satpute said the government allows the commission to conduct hearing at the Sahyadri guest house.

"However, all administrative work will be carried out from Pune now. The commission was using the office space of the State Right to Information Commission as Mullick was the Chief Information Commissioner," Satpute said. The commission was granted extensions from time to time by the state government to conclude its inquiry.

The commission has been granted time till June 31 to submit its report. However, Vishram said the commission would take another six months to complete its inquiry. Violence had broken out on January 1, 2018 between caste groups near the war memorial in Pune district during the bicentennial anniversary of the 1818 battle of Koregaon Bhima.

One person died and several others, including 10 police personnel, were injured in the incident. The Pune police had alleged provocative speeches at the 'Elgar Parishad conclave', held on December 31, 2017, in Pune, triggered the violence near Koregaon Bhima. The police claimed the Elgar Parishad conclave organisers had links with Maoists. (PTI)