Bail rejected: Three accused face arrest

Bail rejected: Three accused face arrest

PUNE: After the Special Court rejected the bail applications filed by activists Sudha Bharadwaj from Delhi, Arun Ferreira from Thane and Vernon Gonsalves from Mumbai, the Pune city police have moved to arrest them for their alleged Maoist links and organising the Elgar Parishad a day before the violence in Koregaon Bhima on January 1 this year. They are under house arrest as per the Supreme Court order. 

ACP Shivaji Pawar, who is investigating the case, said the three accused will be produced before the Pune court on Saturday. 

While rejecting their bail pleas, Special Judge KD Vadane stated that material presented by the prosecution prima facie revealed involvement of activists in the case.

Advocate Dhairyasheel Patil, senior counsel representing Gonsalves, said they will appeal in the Bombay High Court against the bail rejection order.

WHY BAIL WAS REJECTED?
The Judge in his order stated: “At this stage, from material collected by investigating agency, prima facie, it reveals involvement of present applicants. Moreover the investigation is at very crucial stage, therefore, in my view, the present applicants/accused are not entitled to be released on bail. Hence the applications being devoid of merit, liable to be rejected. Since conspiracy is often hatched up in utmost secrecy, it is mostly impossible to prove conspiracy by direct evidence. It has often than not been inferred from the acts, statements and conduct of parties to the conspiracy. Thus it is proved that the accused pursued, by their acts, the same object often by the same means, one performing one part of the act and the other another part of the same act so as to complete it with with a view to attainment of the object which they were pursuing, the court is at liberty to draw the inference that they conspired together to effect that object.”

HOUSE ARREST SAGA
After arresting five persons – Adv Surendra Gadling (49) of Nagpur, activists Sudhir Pralhad Dhawale (50) of Mumbai, Rona Jacob Wilson (47) of New Delhi, Prof Dr Shoma Sen (58) of Nagpur and Mahesh Sitaram Raut (31) of Nagpur, all currently lodged in Yerwada Central Jail, in June, the Pune city police had arrested these three activists along with two others - poet P Varavara Rao of Hyderabad and Gautam Navlakha of 

Delhi - on August 28. However, the Supreme Court stayed their transit remand for taking them to Pune and ordered to keep them under house arrest. 

On September 28, the SC ordered them to approach the lower court for anticipatory bail. 

Meanwhile, Navlakha’s arrest was quashed by Delhi High Court on October 1 while Varavara Rao has approached the Hyderabad High Court for bail. On Thursday, the HC extended Rao’s house arrest for three weeks. 

CASE HISTORY
The accused persons are charged for allegedly conspiring the violence and playing a major role in organising the Elgar Parishad at Shaniwarwada on December 31, 2017 and also for inciting the violence at Koregaon-Bhima a day later (on January 1, 2018). 

They have been booked under stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) besides other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The case is registered with Vishrambaug police station.

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?
Your support motivates us to do better. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with the latest stories.
You can also read on the go with our Android and iOS mobile app.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
The Bridge Chronicle
www.thebridgechronicle.com