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Tag: Elgar Parishad case

  • Elgar Parishad case: Activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira released from prison

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, walked out of prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday afternoon with a special court here issuing their release order a week after they were granted bail by the Supreme Court.

    The two activists were lodged in Taloja jail.

    Some supporters and kin of the two activists waited outside the prison to receive them, a police official said.

    With their release, five out of the 16 accused arrested in the case are now out on bail.

    One of the 16 accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy – died at a private hospital here in July 2021 during judicial custody.

    Earlier in the day, a lawyer linked to the case said a special court hearing cases related to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued their release order on Friday.

    The apex court on July 28 granted bail to the two accused, noting that the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.

    The SC bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted bail to them, noting that mere holding of certain literature through which violent acts may be propagated would not attract the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    “Considering the fact that almost five years have elapsed, we are satisfied they have made out a case for bail. The allegations are serious, no doubt, but for that reason alone, bail cannot be denied to them,” the bench said.

    The apex court also asked them not to leave Maharashtra without the trial court’s permission and surrender their passports.

    It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.

    It also granted liberty to the NIA to seek cancellation of their bail if there is any violation of the bail conditions.

    The activists had moved the top court against a Bombay High Court order rejecting their bail pleas.

    ALSO READ: What the Battle of Bhima Koregaon means to the Dalits

    The special NIA court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a personal recognizance (PR) bond of Rs 50,000 each and asking them not to speak to the media about the case.

    It also directed them to attend the proceedings before the court unless exempted from personal appearance.

    Gonsalves and Ferreira were arrested in August 2018 for their alleged role in the case and were in judicial custody since then. Three other accused in the case are already out on bail.

    While scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj are out on regular bail, poet Varavara Rao is out on bail on health grounds.

    Another accused, activist Gautam Navlakha, is currently under house arrest as per the Supreme Court’s directions.

    The prosecution’s case is that Gonsalves and Ferreira played an active role in the recruitment of and training cadres of banned CPI (Maoist), and Ferreira also had a role in managing the finances of that organisation.

    The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 which, according to the Pune police, was funded by Maoists.

    The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, police had alleged.

    The case was later taken over by the NIA.

    READ MORE: Life and liberty in the Bhima Koregaon case

    MUMBAI: Activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, walked out of prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday afternoon with a special court here issuing their release order a week after they were granted bail by the Supreme Court.

    The two activists were lodged in Taloja jail.

    Some supporters and kin of the two activists waited outside the prison to receive them, a police official said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    With their release, five out of the 16 accused arrested in the case are now out on bail.

    One of the 16 accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy – died at a private hospital here in July 2021 during judicial custody.

    Earlier in the day, a lawyer linked to the case said a special court hearing cases related to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued their release order on Friday.

    The apex court on July 28 granted bail to the two accused, noting that the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.

    The SC bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted bail to them, noting that mere holding of certain literature through which violent acts may be propagated would not attract the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    “Considering the fact that almost five years have elapsed, we are satisfied they have made out a case for bail. The allegations are serious, no doubt, but for that reason alone, bail cannot be denied to them,” the bench said.

    The apex court also asked them not to leave Maharashtra without the trial court’s permission and surrender their passports.

    It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.

    It also granted liberty to the NIA to seek cancellation of their bail if there is any violation of the bail conditions.

    The activists had moved the top court against a Bombay High Court order rejecting their bail pleas.

    ALSO READ: What the Battle of Bhima Koregaon means to the Dalits

    The special NIA court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a personal recognizance (PR) bond of Rs 50,000 each and asking them not to speak to the media about the case.

    It also directed them to attend the proceedings before the court unless exempted from personal appearance.

    Gonsalves and Ferreira were arrested in August 2018 for their alleged role in the case and were in judicial custody since then. Three other accused in the case are already out on bail.

    While scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj are out on regular bail, poet Varavara Rao is out on bail on health grounds.

    Another accused, activist Gautam Navlakha, is currently under house arrest as per the Supreme Court’s directions.

    The prosecution’s case is that Gonsalves and Ferreira played an active role in the recruitment of and training cadres of banned CPI (Maoist), and Ferreira also had a role in managing the finances of that organisation.

    The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 which, according to the Pune police, was funded by Maoists.

    The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, police had alleged.

    The case was later taken over by the NIA.

    READ MORE: Life and liberty in the Bhima Koregaon case

  • Partner of Elgar Parishad accused Navlakha surrenders liquor, cigarettes after NIA raises objection to it

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Gautam Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain has surrendered her liquor bottles and cigarette packets to police after the National Investigation Agency raised an objection over such items brought to the premises where he is currently under house arrest, an official said on Monday.

    On November 19, 70-year-old Navlakha was released from prison and taken to the house in the Belapur-Agroli area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai town to be kept under house arrest for a month.

    Husain, who is staying with 70-year-old Navlakha, had brought two liquor bottles and cigarettes for personal consumption, the official said.

    She had declared about the same to the NIA officials when they came for a house search before Navlakha was brought there.

    She had told the probe agency sleuths that the items were for her consumption and not for Navlakha, who neither consumes liquor nor smokes, the official said.

    The NIA sleuths, however, took objection to the items and hence, those were given into the custody of the CBD Belapur police, he said.

    Husain then wrote to the NIA, informing that she has surrendered the liquor bottles to local police, the official said.

    She has permission to go out of the premises. Navlakha is allowed to go out for a walk for 40 minutes a day with adequate security, he said.

    The Supreme Court last month granted Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest on medical grounds.

    The activist claims to be suffering from multiple ailments.

    He was in jail since April 2020 after his arrest in the case, which relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which Pune police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    According to police, people linked to banned the CPI (Maoists) had organised the programme. The case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later handed over to the NIA.

    MUMBAI: Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Gautam Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain has surrendered her liquor bottles and cigarette packets to police after the National Investigation Agency raised an objection over such items brought to the premises where he is currently under house arrest, an official said on Monday.

    On November 19, 70-year-old Navlakha was released from prison and taken to the house in the Belapur-Agroli area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai town to be kept under house arrest for a month.

    Husain, who is staying with 70-year-old Navlakha, had brought two liquor bottles and cigarettes for personal consumption, the official said.

    She had declared about the same to the NIA officials when they came for a house search before Navlakha was brought there.

    She had told the probe agency sleuths that the items were for her consumption and not for Navlakha, who neither consumes liquor nor smokes, the official said.

    The NIA sleuths, however, took objection to the items and hence, those were given into the custody of the CBD Belapur police, he said.

    Husain then wrote to the NIA, informing that she has surrendered the liquor bottles to local police, the official said.

    She has permission to go out of the premises. Navlakha is allowed to go out for a walk for 40 minutes a day with adequate security, he said.

    The Supreme Court last month granted Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest on medical grounds.

    The activist claims to be suffering from multiple ailments.

    He was in jail since April 2020 after his arrest in the case, which relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which Pune police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    According to police, people linked to banned the CPI (Maoists) had organised the programme. The case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later handed over to the NIA.

  • SC rejects NIA plea, orders Navlakha to be placed under house arrest within 24 hours

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the NIA’s application and ordered social activist Gautam Navlakha to be put under house arrest within 24 hours after shifting him from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.

    Navlakha is lodged in jail in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case.

    The anti-terror probe agency had sought recall of the SC order of November 10 for placing Navlakha under house arrest, citing his links to Maoists and Pakistan’s ISI.

    The bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, however, ordered some additional security measures to be put in place where Navlakha will be kept.ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay HC grants bail to activist Anand Teltumbde

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the NIA’s application and ordered social activist Gautam Navlakha to be put under house arrest within 24 hours after shifting him from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.

    Navlakha is lodged in jail in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case.

    The anti-terror probe agency had sought recall of the SC order of November 10 for placing Navlakha under house arrest, citing his links to Maoists and Pakistan’s ISI.

    The bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, however, ordered some additional security measures to be put in place where Navlakha will be kept.ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay HC grants bail to activist Anand Teltumbde

  • Elgar Parishad case: Four days after SC order, activist Navlakha yet to be placed under house arrest

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Jailed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha is yet to walk out of Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison. Last week, Supreme Court allowed him to be placed under house arrest for a month owing to his medical condition. The reason cited for Navlakha being still in prison is that the formalities for his release are still under process.

    The 70-year-old activist is lodged in Taloja prison in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case of 2017-18.

    The activist, who suffers from multiple ailments, is in custody since April 2020.

    The Supreme Court, on November 10, allowed Navlakha to be put under house arrest for a month with certain conditions and said its order should be implemented within 48 hours.

    However, till Monday evening he was still in prison as formalities for his release could not be completed.

    According to his lawyer, formalities for Navlakha’s release from jail were initiated on Monday before a special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court in Mumbai that is hearing the case against him.

    Once released from prison, Navlakha will be staying at Belapur in Navi Mumbai under surveillance.

    The septuagenarian shall not be allowed to leave Mumbai, as per the SC order.

    His lawyer on Monday apprised special NIA Judge Rajesh Katariya, presiding over the case, of the Supreme Court order on house arrest and initiated the process for filing surety as per the condition set by the apex court to complete his release formalities.

    The SC had imposed a slew of conditions by which Navlakha would have to stay in Mumbai, deposit Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses for security, and CCTV cameras would have to be installed outside the rooms and at entry and exit points of the house where he will be staying.

    ALSO READ | Elgar Parishad case: Supreme Court allows house arrest request of activist Gautam Navlakha

    Navlakha will not be allowed to leave the house except for walks in the company of police personnel, but permitted to meet his lawyers as per Jail Manual rules and inform cops in case of a medical emergency, the apex court said last week.

    It also said the activist will not be allowed to use a computer or the internet during the period of his house arrest. He will, however, be permitted to use a mobile phone without the internet provided by police personnel on duty once a day for ten minutes in their presence.

    Access to television and newspapers will be allowed, but these cannot be interest-based, the SC maintained in its order.

    It also allowed the Maharashtra police to search and inspect the residence and said the accommodation would be under surveillance.

    The Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing in the second week of December by when the prosecuting agency NIA has been asked to obtain a fresh medical report on the accused.

    Navlakha had sought to be shifted from the Taloja prison and placed under house arrest owing to ill health.

    The activist moved the SC against the April 26 order of the Bombay High Court dismissing his plea for house arrest over apprehensions of lack of adequate medical and other basic facilities in the Taloja jail.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon -Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    According to the Pune police, people linked to banned Naxalite groups had organized the programme.

    The case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later handed over to the NIA.

    MUMBAI: Jailed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha is yet to walk out of Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison. Last week, Supreme Court allowed him to be placed under house arrest for a month owing to his medical condition. The reason cited for Navlakha being still in prison is that the formalities for his release are still under process.

    The 70-year-old activist is lodged in Taloja prison in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case of 2017-18.

    The activist, who suffers from multiple ailments, is in custody since April 2020.

    The Supreme Court, on November 10, allowed Navlakha to be put under house arrest for a month with certain conditions and said its order should be implemented within 48 hours.

    However, till Monday evening he was still in prison as formalities for his release could not be completed.

    According to his lawyer, formalities for Navlakha’s release from jail were initiated on Monday before a special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court in Mumbai that is hearing the case against him.

    Once released from prison, Navlakha will be staying at Belapur in Navi Mumbai under surveillance.

    The septuagenarian shall not be allowed to leave Mumbai, as per the SC order.

    His lawyer on Monday apprised special NIA Judge Rajesh Katariya, presiding over the case, of the Supreme Court order on house arrest and initiated the process for filing surety as per the condition set by the apex court to complete his release formalities.

    The SC had imposed a slew of conditions by which Navlakha would have to stay in Mumbai, deposit Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses for security, and CCTV cameras would have to be installed outside the rooms and at entry and exit points of the house where he will be staying.

    ALSO READ | Elgar Parishad case: Supreme Court allows house arrest request of activist Gautam Navlakha

    Navlakha will not be allowed to leave the house except for walks in the company of police personnel, but permitted to meet his lawyers as per Jail Manual rules and inform cops in case of a medical emergency, the apex court said last week.

    It also said the activist will not be allowed to use a computer or the internet during the period of his house arrest. He will, however, be permitted to use a mobile phone without the internet provided by police personnel on duty once a day for ten minutes in their presence.

    Access to television and newspapers will be allowed, but these cannot be interest-based, the SC maintained in its order.

    It also allowed the Maharashtra police to search and inspect the residence and said the accommodation would be under surveillance.

    The Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing in the second week of December by when the prosecuting agency NIA has been asked to obtain a fresh medical report on the accused.

    Navlakha had sought to be shifted from the Taloja prison and placed under house arrest owing to ill health.

    The activist moved the SC against the April 26 order of the Bombay High Court dismissing his plea for house arrest over apprehensions of lack of adequate medical and other basic facilities in the Taloja jail.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon -Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    According to the Pune police, people linked to banned Naxalite groups had organized the programme.

    The case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later handed over to the NIA.

  • Elgar case: HC dismisses plea of Varavara Rao & 2 other accused seeking default bail 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Varavara Rao and two other activists, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, seeking a review of an earlier order of the HC which refused them default bail.

    The high court said it finds it difficult to hold there was any factual error in its earlier judgement and requires a review.

    “No case for review is made out,” a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar said.

    The HC rejected the petition filed by the three accused – Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves – challenging a previous order of the high court that refused to grant them default bail in the case.

    Rao is currently out in medical bail, while the other two petitioners are in jail.

    The three accused had challenged a December 1, 2021 order passed by the bench led by Justice Shinde that granted default bail to lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, a co-accused in the case, but denied default bail to eight other accused persons, including the three petitioners.

    At that time, the HC had said the accused persons, other than Bharadwaj, had not filed their pleas seeking default bail before the lower court within the time stipulated by law.

    In their pleas, filed through advocates Sudeep Pasbola and R Satyanarayanan, the accused said the HC’s order was based on a “factual error,” as it failed to note that the lower court had rejected the default bail pleas filed by Bharadwaj, the three petitioners, and two other co-accused persons through a common order.

    Hence, if the HC, in granting bail to Bharadwaj, set aside the lower court order of November 6, 2019, the others too were entitled to relief.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had opposed the plea on the ground that the accused were seeking the same prayer of default bail under the guise of review, and that it was an abuse of the process of law and sets a wrong precedent.

    The case, now being handled by the NIA, pertains to the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to Pune police was funded by Maoists.

    The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, the police had alleged.

  • Elgar Parishad case: Activist Anand Teltumbde moves discharge application

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, on Thursday moved a discharge application before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here, stating that the probe agency has not produced any material to show that he is a member of CPI (Maoist) or his alleged role in the case.

    Teltumbde (70) was arrested in April 2020 for his alleged links to the Elgar Parishad case and has been lodged in Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.

    The activist, through his lawyers Sathyanarayanan and Neeraj Yadav, filed a discharge application before special NIA judge D E Kothalikar.

    According to the plea, the NIA has alleged that Teltumbde and seven others are members of CPI (Maoist) and were deeply involved in the furtherance of the banned organisation’s agenda through different means.

    CPI (Maoists) believe that the Indian state is being run by a collaboration of imperialist, comprador and bourgeoisie and feudal lords, and the eventual objective is to establish Janta Sarkar through revolution submitted by a commitment to protracted arms struggle to undermine and seize power from the state.

    Teltumbde, in his application, claimed that the NIA has not produced any material before the court to show that he is a member of CPI (Maoist).

    Responding to the allegation by the probe agency that he along with other activists took part in the programme organised under the banner of Elgar Parishad, Teltumbde claimed that except for an “omnibus statement”, there is no material in the chargesheet to fortify the charge.

    The probe agency has alleged that the accused is a senior member of CPI (Maoist) and was in contact with other arrested accused.

    He was the general secretary of the CPDR and a member of the Anuradha Ghandy Memorial committee (AGMC), which are the frontal organisations of CPI (Maoist).

    Teltumbe claimed that the prosecution has not brought on record any material to show that the CPDR is a frontal organisation of CPI (Maoist), and the evidence collected during the investigation would in fact show that there is no link between the two organisations.

    The activist further refuted the NIA’s allegation that his role in connection with the Bhima Koregaon programme was appreciated by CPI (Maoist) and there is evidence of an allocation of Rs 10 lakh to him by the banned organisation for his international campaign and visits for furthering its agenda.

    The prosecution, in a list of documents, has rolled out several correspondences, allegedly exchanged between various accused.

    However, there is nothing in them to decipher that Teltumbde’s role in connection with Bhima Koregaon was appreciated, the discharge application stated.

    Praying for discharge from the case, Teltumbde has said that the court cannot “act merely as a post office or a mouthpiece” of the prosecution, but has to consider the broad probabilities of the case, total effect of the evidence and documents produced before the court, any basic infirmities, etc.

    At the time of framing of the charges, the probative value of the material on record cannot be gone into, but before framing a charge, the court must apply its judicial mind to the material placed on record and must be satisfied that the commission of offence by the accused was possible, the plea said.

    Besides Teltumbe, other accused Sudhir Dawale and Mahesh Raut also sought discharge from the case.

    Meanwhile, the NIA on Thursday filed its reply to the discharge application of artist and singer Jyoti Jagtap.

    The probe agency has claimed that there was adequate grounds and sufficient material evidence on record to sustain the charge against the accused.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay High Court allows Anand Teltumbde to meet his mother 

    It is submitted that the averments made in the grounds seeking discharge of the applicant are not cogent and valid grounds as such present application is devoid of merit and liable to be dismissed, the NIA said.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

    The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

    The probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency.

    The court will hear the matter on May 4.

  • Bombay HC justice Sadhana Jadhav recuses from hearing Elgar case, third judge to do so

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Justice Sadhana Jadhav of the Bombay High Court has recused herself from hearing a bunch of petitions about the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, the third judge of the HC to do so this year.

    The accused in the case include 16 scholars and activists, including the late Jesuit priest Stan Swamy. Earlier this year, Justice SS Shinde and Justice PB Varale of the Bombay high court had recused themselves from hearing the pleas arising from the Elgar Parishad case.

    Justices Sadhana Jadhav and Milind Jadhav were presiding over two petitions filed by activists Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen seeking quashing of the case against them, a bail plea filed by lawyer Surendra Gadling, and a plea filed by priest Frazer Mascarenhas seeking that he be allowed to litigate on behalf of Swamy, who died in custody while waiting for medical bail.

    Justice Sadhana Jadhav on Tuesday said that she must recuse herself from hearing the cases and that no Elgar Parishad or Koregaon Bhima case matters be placed before her.

    She did not assign any reasons for her decision to recuse herself. Generally, judges refrain from hearing a matter if they have any personal interests, associations, or stakes in a matter, or, if they have legally represented any of the accused persons in the past.

    This is the third instance when a judge of the Bombay HC has recused from hearing the Elgar Parishad related cases. Earlier this year, Justice SS Shinde had recused himself from hearing the pleas arising from the Elgar case.

    Incidentally, Justice Shinde had been presiding over these matters between 2019 and 2021. It was his bench that had granted temporary medical bail to poet-activist Varavara Rao, and default bail to lawyer cum activist Sudha Bharadwaj, both accused in the Elgar case.

    The matters had then been transferred to a bench led by Justice PB Varale, who too recused from hearing them. The high court then assigned a special bench led by Justice SB Shukre to hear the matters.

    Earlier this month, Justice Shukre was shifted to the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court, following which the matters were referred to Justice Sadhana Jadhav.

    The petitioners’ counsels will now have to move an application before the high court chief justice Dipankar Datta seeking that a special bench is assigned once again to hear the Elgar matters.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts. The Pune Police claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

  • Activist Rona Wilson’s phone infected with Pegasus spyware, says new forensic analysis

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Activist Rona Wilson’s smartphone was infiltrated using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware a year before his arrest in the Elgar Parishad case, according to new forensic analysis.

    Wilson, a prisoners’ rights activist and academic, was a victim of “surveillance and incriminating document delivery” for close to a year before his arrest in June 2018, according to the analysis.

    Digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting said Wilson’s Apple phone was not just selected for surveillance by a client of Israel’s NSO Group but was also successfully compromised on many occasions.

    The analysis showed that two backups of the iPhone 6s belonging to Wilson had digital traces showing infection by the Pegasus surveillance tool, which its developer, the Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group, has said has been licensed only to government agencies.

    The Indian government has neither confirmed nor denied that it is an NSO Group client.

    V Suresh, National General Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said the new findings show compelling evidence in the case.

    “Now there is compelling evidence. We are exploring all legal possibilities to validate these findings based on the new type of electronic evidence,” Suresh told PTI.

  • Court allows Anand Teltumbde’s plea to call mother for five minutes after brother’s encounter killing

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: A special NIA court here has allowed activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to have a telephonic conversation with his mother for five minutes in the wake of the death of his brother Milind Teltumbde, a top Naxal leader, in an encounter with security forces last week.

    Anand Teltumbde is currently lodged in Taloja jail following his arrest in the Elgar Parishad case in April 2020.

    The court on Tuesday allowed his plea in which he sought a telephonic conversation with his mother.

    The detailed order was made available on Wednesday.

    In his plea, Teltumbde said his 90-year-old mother is in a state of shock and bereavement after Milind’s demise and therefore he may be permitted a telephone call.

    His plea was allowed by special court’s judge D E Kothalikar.

    “The superintendent Taloja Central Prison shall allow accused No.10 (Teltumbde) to make phone calls to his mother for 5 minutes by keeping the phone on speaker mode,” the court said.

    The superintendent shall get it confirmed that the person speaking from the other side is mother of the accused only, it added.

    Anand Teltumbde and some other activists were initially booked by the Pune police after violence erupted at Koregaon Bhima near Pune, a day after the Elgar Parishad conclave was held in the city on December 31, 2017.

    Inflammatory speeches and provocative statements made at the conclave triggered the violence at Koregaon Bhima the next day, the police had alleged.

    According to the police, the event was “backed” by Maoists.

    The NIA later took over the probe into the case.

    Milind Teltumbde died in Saturday’s encounter with security forces that killed 26 rebels in Gadchiroli district of eastern Maharashtra.

    He was carrying a reward of Rs 50 lakh on his head for his alleged involvement in violent activities against the state.

  • Elgar Parishad case: Varavara Rao need not surrender until Oct 28, says Bombay High Court

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday said poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, need not surrender before the Taloja prison authorities until October 28.

    The court also said it will hear on October 26 his plea seeking extension of the bail granted to him. Rao, 82, was granted interim bail for six months on medical grounds by the HC on February 22 this year.

    He was scheduled to surrender and return to judicial custody on September 5.

    However, Rao filed an application last month through his lawyer R Sathyanarayanan and senior counsel Anand Grover, seeking extension of the bail. He also sought permission to stay in his hometown Hyderabad while out on bail.

    The NIA, which is conducting a probe into the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, however, opposed Rao’s plea for extension of medical bail and shifting to Hyderabad, saying his medical reports do not indicate that he suffers from any serious ailment.

    In its affidavit filed before the HC last month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had said the medical reports filed by Rao did not disclose any major ailment, which necessitates him to take treatment in Hyderabad, neither did it form a ground for further extension of the bail.

    The NIA further said in its affidavit that the Taloja prison, located in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, had adequate health care facilities and Rao can be provided with the “best medical facilities” in the prison.

    As part of the stringent conditions imposed on his interim bail by the HC, Rao has been staying with his wife at a rented accommodation in Mumbai.

    At the time when he was granted bail, an ailing Rao was undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the city-based Nanavati Hospital, a private medical facility, where he had been admitted by the state prison authorities following the HC’s intervention.

    On Thursday, a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and SV Kotwal extended the time granted to Rao to surrender until October 28, and said it will hear his plea further on October 26.

    In his plea seeking extension of medical bail and modification of bail conditions, Rao had said that as per doctors at the Nanavati Hospital, he is suspected to have a neurological issue, known as cluster headache, that needs further examination.

    Rao further said in the plea that he continues to suffer from multiple ailments, including urinary tract infection with recurrent hyponatremia, suspicion of Parkinsons’ disease, lacunar infarcts in six major lobes of the brain, and some eye problems.

    He said in his plea that if he returned to custody in the Taloja prison, that was not equipped to cater to his medical problems, his health would certainly deteriorate and he might die.

    Thus, he sought that his medical bail be extended for another six months.

    Rao also said in his plea that he found living in Mumbai and accessing health facilities in the city unaffordable, and urged the HC to let him stay in Hyderabad while out in bail.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

    The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.