Hindutva functionary Milind Ekbote barred from entering Sambhajinagar district till April 5

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Additional district collector Vinod Khirolkar on Friday issued an order prohibiting Hindutva functionary Milind Ekbote and his supporters from entering Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district from March 16 to April 5.
The order cites concerns over potential communal unrest and threat to law and order amid intelligence inputs that Ekbote and his supporters plan to target Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's tomb at Khuldabad, 25 kms from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city.
A State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) company, headed by two officers, has been deployed at the tomb, which is situated on the premises of Sufi saint Syed Zainuddin's tomb. Aurangzeb's tomb built in 1707 AD is one of the protected monuments.
Ekbote, a former corporator in Pune, is closely associated with Hindutva organisations like Dharamveer Sambhaji Maharaj Pratishthan, Hindu Ekta Morcha, Samast Hindu Aghadi, and Shivpratap Bhumi Mukti Andolan. He has been annually organizing the Sambhaji Maharaj Shraddhanjali Yatra Rally at Vadhu-Tulapur, where a memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
This year the Shraddhanjali rally is on March 29, which is the death anniversary of the Maratha king, when a large number of his supporters are expected to gather at Vadhu Tulapur.
On Saturday evening TOI made repeated calls to Milind Ekbote. However, he did not answer the calls. TOI also sent him a message, but he did not respond to the same till the time of going to press.
Sambhajinagar's District Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinay Kumar Rathod had earlier submitted a report to the district administration citing intelligence inputs about the likelihood of Ekbote and his supporters heading to Khuldabad, after the Vadhu Tulapur rally, to damage Aurangzeb's tomb. The report stated that this could threaten the law-and-order situation in the area, the order by Khirolkar stated.
Rathod told TOI, "Any violation of the order would lead to strict legal action, as maintaining peace and communal harmony in the district remains the administration as well as the police's top priority."
Khirolkar's order cited intelligence inputs and stated, "Given Ekbote's history of being associated with the 2018 violence at the Koregaon Bhima memorial, earlier cases of hurting religious sentiments of other communities and his previous involvement in movements demanding removal of Afzal Khan's tomb from Pratapgarh fort, the authorities fear his presence could provoke large-scale unrest."
The order also mentions the recent release of the Marathi film ‘Chhava' and the pent up emotions triggered among Hindu and Maratha communities regarding Aurangzeb's tomb.
Additionally, right-wing groups such as Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have announced a state-wide agitation from March 17, demanding the removal of the tomb. The fact that the holy month of Ramzan is ongoing and the Maharashtra Assembly session is underway has further prompted officials to take preventive action to avoid any law-and-order crisis.