Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde was arrested today by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) office in Mumbai after he surrendered in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, his lawyer said. He will soon be produced in court.
Advocate Mihir Desai said Teltumbde reached the NIA office at Cumbala Hill in south Mumbai to surrender. Mr Teltumbde and several other civil liberties activists were booked under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly having Maoist links and conspiring to overthrow the government.
The activists were booked initially by the Pune police following the violence that erupted at Koregaon-Bhima. As per the police, the activists had made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which it said triggered violence the next day.
The police also said they were active members of banned Maoist groups. The case was later transferred to NIA. Mr Teltumbde and activist and co-accused Gautam Navlakha were given interim protection by the Bombay High Court while their pre-arrest bail pleas were being heard. After High Court rejected their applications, the two approached the Supreme Court. On March 17, 2020, the Supreme Court rejected their pleas and directed them to surrender within three weeks. On April 9, the top court granted the duo another week to surrender by way of last chance.
