If terror-busters do not relish the prospect of knocking on the doors of a retired judge, there’s always the neighbour.
A retired judge, whose statement had brought under strain the purported reason for the recent crackdown on “urban Maoists”, has accused Maharashtra police’s anti-terrorism squad of making inquiries about him in his neighbourhood without informing him.
Retired judge B.G. KolsePatil was one of the organisers of the Elgaar Parishad held in Pune to commemorate a Dalit triumph in a battle, a day after which caste clashes had broken out in Bhima-Koregaon and one person died in January this year.
Ten activists and lawyers were arrested by Pune police in June and August, suggesting that they were the organisers of the parishad. But Justice KolsePatil had said: “The Elgaar Parishad was organised by me and Justice (retired) P.B. Sawant. There were 300 organisations which participated. The police claim on Elgaar Parishad’s link with Maoists is completely false.”
On Monday, Justice KolsePatil said a sub-inspector visited his housing society in Pune on Saturday and had gone around seeking information about him. “The sub-inspector came in a Bolero and spoke to the security guard, the chairman and the secretary of the housing society where I live. I asked why he didn’t come straight to me. He did not answer,” Justice KolsePatil said.
The former judge of Bombay High Court called up Pune police on its emergency number 100 and registered a formal complaint with a police station.
“I know against whom I am fighting,” said the 76-year-old retired judge. “My objection is why they are trying to create panic among my neighbours,” he said.
