The Pune MPSC protest has triggered a fresh dispute over police action after an FIR was registered against 15 people, including student representatives, for allegedly demonstrating against the Maharashtra Public Service Commission and the Maharashtra government in the city’s Navi Peth area. Nationalist Congress Party MLA Rohit Pawar has questioned the police investigation and alleged that some students were named despite not being present at the protest site.
The case was registered at the Vishrambaug police station after the student protest began on October 1. In a social media post, Pawar addressed Pune Police Commissioner and raised questions about the inclusion of students who, according to his claim, were not at the location on the day of the incident.
Pawar said Rishikesh Gangurde, who had raised the issue of the alleged question paper leak, along with Omkar Patil, Gajanan Shelke, Somanath Chavan and Sanket Kanase, were not near Indulal Complex when the protest took place. He claimed that the students were in their villages and asked how the police had identified them as being present at the scene.
The MLA also alleged errors in the FIR. According to the report, he claimed that the document recorded Pramod Patil’s gender as female and Priyanka Chaudhary’s gender as male. Pawar cited these alleged discrepancies while questioning the accuracy of the police investigation and the process used to register the case.
Pawar further alleged that the cases against the students were being used to exert pressure on those participating in the protest. He said the offences were bailable and claimed that a large team of lawyers had been arranged to represent the students. He also said the action would not frighten the protesters.
The MLA called for the cases against the students to be withdrawn and challenged the police to register cases against him instead. He also demanded the removal of an official identified in the report as Bheemnavar over corruption allegations. The report does not provide an official response from the police to these allegations, nor does it independently confirm the FIR entries or the claim that some named students were absent from the protest site.
The dispute places the administration of student demonstrations and the accuracy of criminal complaints at the centre of the Pune controversy. The immediate issues now include the police explanation for the names included in the FIR, any correction of the alleged errors in the document and the next steps in the legal proceedings. The police’s official position and further action in the case will determine how the dispute develops.
