Elgaar Parishad case: Nine arrested activists appear before NIA court in Mumbai days after Central agency takes over probe

Mumbai: The nine activists arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case were on Friday produced in a special court, days after the NIA took over probe into the matter. This was the first time that the accused, most of them human rights activists, appeared before the special NIA court. The 2017 case, which was being handled by the Pune Police, was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by the Centre in January. [caption id=“attachment_7581161” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Logo of NIA. Twitter@NIA_India[/caption] On 14 February, the court in Pune, which was earlier hearing the case, passed an order transferring the case to the special NIA court in Mumbai in response to a plea filed by the central agency. The Pune court had directed that the accused be produced before the NIA court in Mumbai before or on 28 February. The accused — Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen and Vernon Gonsalves — were shifted to Mumbai from Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail on Wednesday. As per the court order, they were produced before special NIA court judge DE Kothalikar. During the hearing, the prosecution apprised the court of the development in the case. The lawyer representing the NIA said a charge sheet had been filed in the Pune court and interim applications of some of the accused were pending. Standing in the dock along with two other accused, Ferreira told the court that the Arthur Road Jail, where they are presently lodged, is not allowing them to keep their books and chargesheets citing lack of space. The previous jail had, however, allowed it, he said. The judge said he will look into the matter and pass an appropriate order. He then adjourned the hearing till 13 March. The judge said that henceforth the accused will be produced before court via video-conferencing. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on 31 December, 2017, which police claimed, triggered violence near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts the next day. The Pune police claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The nine jailed accused are among 11 people booked by the NIA in the case for alleged links with Maoists.