Two Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti leaders arrested in Belagavi

Police arrested two Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) youth wing leaders Shubham Shelke and Manohar Hundri charging them with offences under provisions of the Prevention of Atrocities against SC/ST Act, in Belagavi on October 22.

Officers from the Khadebazar police station took them into custody in connection with a case filed in January 2025. They were produced in court that remanded them to judicial custody till November 4. They were taken to the Hindalga Central prison.

Raju Talwar, a leader of the Walmiki yuvaka Sangha, had registered the complaint, alleging that two had used abusive language against certain SC/ST communities during a MES rally in January 2025. “They were arrested after failing to appear before the police, despite receiving notices to do so,” police said.

Mr. Shelke condemned the act, claiming the police took them into custody without issuing any prior notice. He told reporters before going to jail that this was to prevent the ‘Black Day’ observance that the MES plans on November 1, the day of Karnataka Rajyotsava. He complained that the arrest was politically motivated. He alleged that MES leaders were being harassed as they were fighting for the rights of the Marathi-speaking community.