Police on Wednesday arrested prominent four Dalit activists and a professor at Nagpur University with alleged “Maoist links” in connection with caste riots in Koregaon Bhima near Pune in January this year.

Pune’s joint commissioner of police Ravindra Kadam said they have arrested five people for their role in inciting people that led to the violence at Koregaon Bhima after a first information report was lodged against them at Vishram Baug police station.

“The latest arrest is of Soma Sen, a professor at Nagpur University,” Kadam said.

“We are also investigating possible Maoist connection with Koregaon Bhima riots,” he added.

A team of Pune Police arrested a member of Republican Panther Sudhir Dhawale, prominent lawyer Surendra Gadling, activists Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut. Dhawale was arrested from his house in Mumbai, Dagling and Raut were picked up from Nagpur and Wilson from his Delhi residence.

Sen, who teaches English and is reportedly a Maoist sympathiser, was arrested after her house in Nagpur’s Bharat Nagar was searched. Police reportedly seized several documents, including hard disks, pen drives and books.

Dhawale was one of the organisers of Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017, when members of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), a left-leaning organisation, delivered provocative speeches leading to violence at Koregaon Bhima, according to FIR filed by city police at Vishraum Baug police station.

A large number of Dalits had gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of a battle they won while fighting alongside the British against the Peshwas, upper caste rulers. A 28-year-old man was killed in the clashes.

Police said Gadling, who has represented several suspected Maoists and was another organiser of Elgar Parishad, was allegedly involved in promoting enmity between various groups at the event held at Shaniwarwada.

Kadam said police were also in the process of invoking Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act (UAPA) against those arrested besides booking them for inciting violence under the Indian Penal Code.

Police are also searching the Nagpur house of Mahesh Raut, a tribal activist from Gadchiroli, in this connection.

Pune Police had carried out multi-city searches at the residence and offices of Dhawale, Wilson and Gadling on April 17. They claimed that they had found “incriminating documents” during those searches.

Police have also booked Gujarat-based Dalit leader and MLA Jignesh Mewani, Jawaharlal Nehru University’s student leader Umar Khalid, Chhattisgarh activist Soni Sori and Bhim Army president Vinay Ratan Singh besides members of Kabir Kala Manch.

Rightwing leader Milind Ekbote was also arrested in connection with the clashes while Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis cleared another rightwing leader Sambhaji Bhide.

Harshali Potdar, another organiser of Elgar Parishad and a Republican Panther member, alleged a conspiracy against Dalit activists.

“The police came to Dhawale’s residence early in the morning and without any explanation arrested him. On one hand, the police are giving a clean chit to people like Bhide, on the other they are arresting Dalit activists,” Potdar said.