Professor Teltumbde calls his arrest 'vilest plot by governement'

Professoru00c2u00a0Anand Teltumbde

Two days after a special court in Pune termed civil rights activist Prof Dr Anand Teltumbde's arrest by Pune police 'illegal', the Dalit scholar expressed disappointment over his arrest at a talk held by the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh on Monday.

"Thankfully, I have documents to prove that I wasn't in Pune on the day of the violence that took place in Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018, after the Elgaar Parishad in Pune," he said, adding that he had returned to Goa on the night of December 31 and "even wrote an article on a news publication's request regarding the Bhima Koregaon programme, and have rather criticised the programme." The article upset many among the Dalit community, and "yet I am being accused of causing violence," the acclaimed activist said.

'Plot by government'
Dr Teltumbde has been receiving consistent support from academia across the country and some institutes abroad too ever since he was accused in the violence. The eminent management professor expressed distress at being treated like a criminal in the entire episode.

"The police wouldn't even let me use my phone. I was released very soon but this incident has opened my eyes that anything can happen here and a rather important question for a common man here is - how to live in this country?" said the activist. "You cannot pick one name but it is a conspiracy for sure," he asserted, adding that it was "the vilest post-independent plot by the government against India's population."

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