Tag: bhima koregaon case nia

Bhima Koregaon Judicial Commission Seeks 6-Month Extension

The commission on Monday wrote a letter to the state chief secretary seeking an extension, citing the lockdown of the state in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mumbai: The two-member judicial commission inquiring into the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case on Monday sought a six-month extension from the Maharashtra government as it has postponed its hearing in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak and resultant lockdown.

The commission on Monday wrote a letter to the state chief secretary seeking an extension.

“In view of coronavirus epidemic and complete lockdown, the Commission has postponed its proceedings until further notice. As such the Commission is unable to submit any report,” the letter signed by commission secretary V.V. Palnitkar said.

“If extension is given by the state government, the Commission intends to examine 40-50 more witnesses, including police, state and prominent politicians. For that purpose, the Commission will require not less than six months,” it added.

Violence erupted in Bhima Koregaon and nearby areas in Pune on January 1, 2018 during the 200th-anniversary celebrations of the Koregaon-Bhima battle.

One person was killed in the riots and several others injured.

The Pune police had said provocative speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held on December 31, 2017 triggered the violence.

The Maharashtra government had set up a two-member commission in February 2018 to conduct an inquiry into the violence. The commission is headed by former high court judge J.N. Patel. Former chief secretary Sumit Mullick is its member.

It has since then received four extensions.

Last month, the commission was given a final extension till April 8 this year by the government to submit its report.

On March 18, the commission had issued summons to NCP chief Sharad Pawar to appear as a witness before it on April 4.

Apart from Pawar, the commission had also summoned a few senior police officials of Pune Rural area.

Pawar was summoned as a witness by the commission in view of certain statements made by him about the violence.

Bhima Koregaon: SC Extends Interim Protection From Arrest to Navlakha, Teltumbde

Last month, the Bombay high court had rejected their anticipatory bail pleas.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday extended till March 16 protection from arrest granted to civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde in the Bhima Koregaon case.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee said it would hear on March 16 the appeals filed by Navlakha and Teltumbde against the last month’s order of the Bombay High Court rejecting their anticipatory bail pleas.

The high court, while denying the anticipatory bail to Navlakha and Teltumbde on February 14, had extended the interim protection from arrest for a period of four weeks to enable them to approach the apex court.

Appearing for the activists, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi informed the bench that protection granted to both of them by the high court would expire on March 14 and the top court should extend it.

The Bombay High Court had on February 14 refused to grant anticipatory bail to Navlakha and Teltumbde, saying “prima facie evidence shows complicity of both the accused in the case”.

Also Read: Bhima Koregaon: Amid Demands For Fresh Probe, A Hard Look at the Case’s Discrepancies

The court, after perusing letters allegedly exchanged between the accused persons had noted that Navlakha, Teltumbde and the other accused persons like Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, and Sudha Bharadwaj had direct access and connections with central committee members and leaders of CPI (Maoist).

“It was revealed during the course of (the) investigation that Anand Teltumbde was (the) recipient of funds from the banned terrorist organisation,” the court had said.

Navlakha, Teltumbde and several other activists have been booked by the Pune Police for their alleged Maoist links and several other charges following the violence at Koregaon Bhima village in Pune district on January 1, 2018.

According to Pune Police, “inflammatory” speeches and “provocative” statements made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, had triggered caste violence at Koregaon Bhima the next day. The police alleged that the conclave was backed by Maoists.

Teltumbde and Navlakha had approached the high court seeking pre-arrest bail in November last year after a sessions court in Pune rejected their pleas.

In December last year, the high court had granted them interim protection from arrest pending disposal of their anticipatory bail pleas.

Although Pune Police was investigating the case, the Centre had last month transferred the probe to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Bhima Koregaon: Maharashtra Govt to Set Up a SIT, Conduct Parallel Probe

The decision comes days after the National Investigation Agency took over the case in which nine human rights activists and lawyers have been incarcerated for over 20 months.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra state home department will soon be setting up a special investigation team headed by senior IPS officials to investigate the ‘urban naxal’ case. The decision comes days after the National Investigation Agency took over the case in which nine human rights activists and lawyers have been incarcerated for over 20 months.

At the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) meeting that was held at the Y.B. Chavan centre in South Mumbai, the case was high on the agenda. According to the state minister for minority affairs, Nawab Malik, the announcement will be made soon, along with the names of the officials who will be heading the investigation.

NCP head Sharad Pawar has been quite open about his apprehension about the way the case was investigated by the Pune police. He had raised questions about their credibility and had accused former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis of playing a foul game.

Speaking to the media, after the party meeting, Malik said that the decision to form a SIT was taken by Pawar. “Pawar sahib has asked the home minister (Anil Deshmukh) to form a SIT. The home department will soon make an announcement,” he said.

Also read: ‘No Objection Over NIA Probing Bhima Koregaon Case,’ Maha Govt Now Says

Even when the tri-party led Maharashtra government was contemplating another look at the investigations, the BJP-led Central government had transferred the case to the NIA. However, the Maharashtra government has now decided to invoke section 10 of the NIA act to carry out a parallel investigation. This provision gives an additional power to the state to carry out parallel investigation in the case.

Soon after the NIA had made an application with the Pune sessions court to have the case transferred to the NIA court, the state home department was seeking legal opinions to oppose the application in the court. However, amid discussions, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray decided to let the NIA take over the case. Pawar, who was visibly upset with the CM’s decision, decided to openly criticise Thackeray and today at the party meeting decided a parallel investigation could be carried out in the case.

Today’s meeting was held amid reports of rising differences with ally Shiv Sena. Home minister Anil Deshmukh, in a press briefing last week, had indicated that the CM had taken the decision of handing the case over to the NIA on his own, without consulting him. “The CM has the right to take the decision on his,” he had told in the press conference.

In June 2018, the Pune police, in two rounds, had arrested nine activists. These activists, according to the police, have been involved in “urban Naxalism” and had allegedly plotted to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a “Rajiv Gandhi style assassination plot”.

Top row (from left): Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut
Middle row: Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Row; Bottom row: Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Rona Wilson

The arrested activists have also been accused of triggering violence on thousands of Dalit-Bahujans who were visiting Bhima Koregaon in the outskirts of Pune on January 1, 2018. The gathering was organised to celebrate the 200th anniversary of a historic battle won by the British army – largely comprised of soldiers from the Dalit community – against the Peshwa regime ruled by the Brahmin king Baji Rao II in 1818.

Also read: ‘Centre’s Decision to Hand Bhima Koregaon to NIA Unconstitutional’: Maha Home Minister

Those arrested include Sudhir Dhawale, a writer and Mumbai-based Dalit rights activist, Surendra Gadling, a UAPA expert and lawyer from Nagpur, Mahesh Raut, a young activist on displacement issues from Gadchiroli, Shoma Sen, a university professor and head of the English literature department at Nagpur University, Rona Wilson, a Delhi-based prisoners’ rights activist, advocate Arun Ferreira, advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, writer Varavara Rao and Vernon Gonsalves. While the first five were arrested on June 6, others’ arrests followed.

So far, among the three parties – NCP, Congress and Sena, only the NCP has openly criticised the BJP government for its investigations. NCP leader and housing minister Jitendra Ahwad had even raised this issue in the winter assembly session. Social justice minister Dhananjay Munde, in December last year, had written a letter to the CM requesting him to look into the “false allegations” made against activists and lawyers who have been languishing in jail.

Centre Should’ve Consulted Us on Bhima Koregaon Probe: Uddhav Thackeray

In an interview with Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Maharashtra CM spoke about various topics.

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday criticised the Centre’s decision to transfer the probe into the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) without taking the state government into confidence.

In the third and concluding part of his interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Thackeray also accused the BJP of “betraying” him and said his Hindutva ideology was different from that of the BJP as he did not want an ‘unstable Hindu Rashtra’ where governments are toppled and there is communal tension.

To a question, he said the (Supreme Court’s) decision on Ram temple was according to the Constitution.

He also said the future of his Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress, was “good”.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar was the MVA government’s “guide” and not remote controlling it, he said, adding that he will visit Delhi soon to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Referring to the Bhima Koregaon violence case, Thackeray said the Centre has all rights to step into the probe, but it should have taken the state government into confidence before handing over the investigation to NIA.

“I was surprised by the Centre’s decision. Doesn’t the Centre trust the state’s investigating agencies? Due to such incidents, there is a problem in Centre-state relations,” he said while speaking to Saamana‘s executive editor Sanjay Raut.

Thackeray said the probe in the case was handed over to NIA when Pawar was demanding an inquiry into it by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

“The Centre must have felt what is going on in our mind. It could have asked us what are we planning to do. Sharad Pawar expressed his views on the probe. Did we take any decision? The Centre should have sought information from us. It should have asked Pawar why he feels the case should be probed again,” he said.

The chief minister said he had spoken to Pawar and the latter wanted a “free and fair” probe in the case.

Violence had broken out near Bhima Koregaon war memorial in Pune district on January 1, 2018.

The case was earlier being probed by the Pune Police, which claimed that provocative speeches at Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017, led to the violence, and Maoists were behind the conclave.

“The Shiv Sena’s Hindutva agenda remains the same… but that doesn’t come in between government functioning,” he said.

Asked about Congress leader Ashok Chavan’s statement that the Shiv Sena gave in writing that the MVA government will function according to the Constitution, the chief minister said not just his party, but the Congress and NCP have also given that in writing.

“That is called the ‘Common Minimum Programme’. The programme includes thali (one plate meal) for poor at Rs 10, health check up for Rs 1 and farm loan waiver,” he said.

He also rejected criticism that the Shiv Sena had ‘surrendered’ to the Congress and NCP. “What is surrender? Has the Congress given up its secularism? I have also not given up Hindutva. But, we are focusing on governance within the constitutional framework,” he said.

On his government being called a ‘khichdi sarkar’, Thackeray said, “So what…the poor need ‘khichdi’. Nobody gives them biryani.”

Asked about deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Thackeray said he is a good colleague who has “knowledge of issues”.

“Even Ashok Chavan is very cooperative. We fought elections against each other and criticised each other. But, now we are working together,” he noted.

He also said that the MVA government has a bright future and he sees no problem in the alliance continuing for long. “All three parties have understood each other’s limitations. If we do well within our limits, we can achieve our goal,” he said.

‘Centre’s Decision to Hand Bhima Koregaon to NIA Unconstitutional’: Maha Home Minister

The case was taken over by the NIA while the state government was in the process of forming a special investigation team to take another look at the Pune police’s investigation.

Mumbai: Crushing any hope that the Maharashtra state government may release the rights activists and lawyers implicated in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday abruptly decided to hand the investigations over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA Act allows the department to take over any investigations related to “scheduled offences” and the state has little role to play, leave alone decline permission.

On January 22, Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar met the Pune police and the state intelligence officials for a review meeting on the case. Soon after the meeting, Deshmukh announced that by the next week, his department would take a decision on whether a Special Investigation Team (SIT) needs to be constituted to look into the investigation.

But even before the state could act upon its announcement, the Union home ministry decided to take the case away from the Maharashtra police. Nine activists and lawyers have been languishing in jail since June 2018 over allegations of being active members of the “urban Naxal” movement.

The Pune police had claimed that the accused had conspired and instigated the gathering at Bhima Koregaon, 30 kilometres off Pune city, which had led to violence. Several others, including professor Anand Teltumbde, right activist Gautam Navalakha, cultural activists from Kabir Kala Manch have been named in the earlier FIR and are yet to be arrested.

Those arrested include Sudhir Dhawale, a writer and Mumbai-based Dalit rights activist, Surendra Gadling, a UAPA expert and lawyer from Nagpur, Mahesh Raut, a young activist on displacement issues from Gadchiroli, Shoma Sen, a university professor and head of the English literature department at Nagpur University, Rona Wilson, a Delhi-based prisoners’ rights activist, advocate Arun Ferreira, advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, writer Varavara Rao and Vernon Gonsalves. While the first five were arrested on June 6, others’ arrests followed.

Top row (from left): Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut; Middle row: Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Row; Bottom row: Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Rona Wilson

According to the Pune police’s investigation, led by ACP Shivaji Pawar, the accused hatched a conspiracy to assassinate prime minister Narendra Modi in a “Rajiv Gandhi style execution”. This, the police had claimed on the basis of one letter allegedly found on the computer of one of the arrested persons.

Also Read: The People’s Fighters: Meet the Five Arrested in the Bhima Koregaon Case

In November, soon after the tri-party government comprising the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress took over, they have on several occasions hinted at the possibility of revisiting the investigation into the case. During the winter assembly session, NCP leader and state cabinet minister for housing Jitendra Awhad had accused the former BJP government, led by Devendra Fadnavis, of wrongly targeting rights activists and falsely branding them as “urban Naxals”. Within weeks, NCP chief Sharad Pawar too spoke in favour of those arrested and demanded a fresh probe.

Early this month, Pawar sent two separate letters to the home department seeking the formation of an SIT. The Centre, however, decided to strike back before the state could react.

The NIA, unlike other investigative agencies, doesn’t need sanction from the state government. While the Act allows the involvement of the state government in the investigation, this decision is entirely dependent on the centre.

“Centre’s decision is unconstitutional”

As soon as news about the probe being handed over to the NIA broke, several NCP and Congress leaders in Maharashtra called the decision “unconstitutional”. State home minister Anil Deshmukh who was on his way to Gondia stopped by to call an urgent press briefing, where he said that the Centre has acted in an arbitrary manner.

“Right when the state government decided to go to the root of the matter, the Centre decided to step in,” he said. “It is wrong for the Centre to go ahead and take over a state-led investigation without keeping them (the state government) in the loop, leave alone taking their permission,” he further added.


Awhad claimed that the Centre’s decision is a direct attack on the Constitution. “It is a direct attack on the constitution, the federal structure and the autonomy of the state,” he said.

Speaking to media in Mumbai on Saturday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, “The state has all the right to probe this matter. What was the reason to transfer the case in haste? They were afraid that the truth will come out.”

NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked, “What is the BJP afraid of? Why have they suddenly lost faith in the Maharashtra Police?”

Revenue minister and senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat tweeted that the state government was not consulted before the decision. “Without consulting the Maharashtra government, the decision of the Central Government, abruptly handing over the Bhima Koregaon case to the NIA is unconstitutional and against the federal structure of the Union of India. We strongly condemn it,” he said.

Nihalsing Rathod, defence lawyer in the case, said that the Pune police have held the nine arrested activists for over 18 months. “The chargesheet relies heavily on digital evidence, which has not been made available to them till date. The defence lawyers and the media, in their independent investigations, have clearly established a pattern of lies weaved to keep the arrested activists in custody,” he said.

When the new state government was showing signs of having another look at at the case, the BJP is attempting to suppress the truth and “directly meddle into the state’s investigation”, he said. Rathod called the move “a direct attack on the Constitution and the federal structure”.

Multiple Discrepancies

There have been several apparent inconsistencies and discrepancies in the Pune police’s investigation. The Wire on December 21, had published a detailed report on several anomalies in the evidence that the Pune police have relied upon. There are several obvious instances of digital tampering in the purported evidence gathered from the computers and hard disks of two of the prime accused, Gadling and Wilson.

Also Read: Bhima Koregaon: Amid Demands For Fresh Probe, A Hard Look at the Case’s Discrepancies

The National Investigation Act was brought in by the Congress-led UPA government in 2008, after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Though the agency was set up to look into terror cases, it has been accused of being misused by the Central government for political gains.

On January 15, the state of Chhattisgarh filed a suit in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the NIA Act.