Pune: Despite being pulled up by the Supreme Court for not arresting Samasta Hindu Aghadi leader Milind Ekbote and questioning him in connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima on January 1, the Pune rural police on Wednesday insisted that they wanted his full-fledged custody instead of temporarily arresting him.The police have now decided to seek his custody during the next hearing in the SC on March 14.The SC had on Tuesday rapped the state government for not doing enough to arrest Ekbote, who has been accused of inciting violence at Koregaon Bhima. “Do your job. Arrest him, conduct investigations and then tell us,” the SC had said on Tuesday.The apex court also clarified its earlier order stating that in the event of Ekbote’s arrest, he should be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh and that, it did not restrain the state from arresting him. It rejected the government’s contention that Ekbote was not cooperating and was absconding.“We want to arrest him in the case, but we want his full-fledged custody. Arresting and releasing him immediately will not be sufficient for investigations,” said Suvez Haque, superintendent of police, Pune rural.“We want to grill him properly while in custody to ascertain the facts related to the case and the allegations levelled against him,” he said. The police will press the need for his arrest and custody will be obtained, he added.

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