Teltumbde reaches NIA office to surrender in Elgar case

Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case surrendered before the National Investigation Agency in Mumbai on Tuesday. 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.

Mumbai: Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde on Tuesday reached the National Investigation Agency (NIA) office here to surrender in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, his lawyer said.

Advocate Mihir Desai said Teltumbde reached the NIA office at Cumbala Hill in south Mumbai to surrender.

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.

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 HC rejected their applications, the duo approached the Supreme Court. On March 17, 2020, the apex court rejected their pleas and directed them to surrender within three weeks. On April 9, the SC granted the duo another week to surrender by way of last chance.

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