The Pune police have booked two students amongs others for a dance performance that featured a song about Madvi Hidma, a Maoist leader, during a cultural event at a government-run boys’ hostel in Vishrantwadi. The event was held between April 6 and April 14 to mark the 135th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar. The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on Wednesday (April 15, 2026) night under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that deal with imputations prejudicial to national integration and statements causing public mischief.
The FIR was registered at the Vishrantwadi police station by Sub-Inspector Shabbir Shaikh. Mangesh Hande, Senior Police Inspector at the station, confirmed the registration and said no arrest had been made. “Further investigation is on,” he said.
The two students named in the FIR are from Gadchiroli district and are enrolled in a BBA course at a college in Pune. The police have also booked other unidentified individuals. The sections invoked are 197(1), 353(1), and 3(5) of the BNS.
According to the FIR, the accused students and others performed a dance on the song “O Re Bandook Wale” on the premises of the Bharatratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Government Hostel in Vishrantwadi. The police said the performance carried content that was prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India. The FIR states that Hidma was the commander of Battalion 1 of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the banned CPI-Maoist. He was killed in an encounter with security forces in Andhra Pradesh in 2025.
