Anand Teltumbde, an accused Urban Naxal and ‘Dalit rights activist,’ was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Friday for his alleged complicity in the Bhima Koregaon incident in 2018. He has been held in Taloja Central Prison since 2020.
After hearing the matter thoroughly and reserving its judgement last week, a bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Milind Jadhav announced the verdict today. Interestingly, the high court has postponed its own ruling for a week at the request of NIA’s counsel, Advocate Sandesh Patil. The agency wanted this time to petition the Supreme Court against the order.
Bombay High Court grants bail to Dalit rights activist Anand Teltumbde accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case. #BhimaKoregaon #BombayHighCourt @NIA_India pic.twitter.com/7Ti0RC57OA
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) November 18, 2022
On 2 February 2019, Pune Cops arrested Anand Teltumbde for his suspected role in the violence that occurred in Elgar Parishad in January 2018. The inquiry was conducted by the Pune police for two years before being passed to the National Investigation Agency in January 2021. According to the agency, scathing documents and notes were discovered on the devices of several of the accused, linking them to the outlawed CPI(M) outfit.
Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case and the involvement of Anand Teltumbde
The Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case pertains to an event organised at Shaniwar Wada called Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. The following day, i.e January 1, 2018, large-scale violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Dalits had gathered to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, won by the British Army—comprising mostly soldiers from the Dalit community—against the Peshwas in 1818.
An FIR was filed in connection with the violence on January 8, 2019, after which Pune Police kickstarted a probe into it. According to the police, arrested ‘activists’ claimed that the event was organised as part of alleged Maoist activity and the accused were members.
On 2 February 2019, Pune Police arrested Anand Teltumbde for his supposed role in the violence that occurred in Elgar Parishad in January 2018.
Prior to being turned over to the National Investigation Agency in January 2021, the Pune police conducted the investigation for two years. A special NIA court in Mumbai denied bail to Anand Teltumbde in July 2021. The court determined that the claims made against him were, at the very least, accurate.
According to Special NIA Judge Kothalikar, Anand Teltumbde was unable to provide an explanation for why his name was listed as a convener on the booklet named “Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerana Abhiyan,” which was published before the event on December 31, 2017.
In its observation, the court said it did not find the accusation of Teltumbde’s involvement not “inherently improbable” or “wholly unbelievable,” and prima facie he was involved in furthering the activities of the banned organisation. The NIA had earlier claimed that Teltumbde was an active member of the proscribed group CPI(M) and propagated its activities.
Besides Teltumbde, a host of other supposed “intellectuals” including Sudha Bharadwaj, Stan Swamy, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao were arrested for inciteful speeches and their involvement in furthering activities of a banned organisation. Stan Swamy, one of the accused in the case died in July 2021.
