Months after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai refused to grant “default” bail to academician-activist Anand Teltumbde, he moved a fresh bail plea before court on Tuesday.
Anand Teltumbde was arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case by the NIA on April 14, 2020, after he surrendered on the Supreme Court's direction.
As per his lawyer, Teltumbde has sought bail based on the merits of the case. The matter has been scheduled for hearing on January 27 by the NIA court, the lawyer added. The court had in July refused to grant "default" bail to Teltumbde (70), who has been in jail for nearly nine months now.
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He had sought bail under section 167 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on July 13 after the NIA failed to file a charge-sheet against him within 90 days as mandated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The CrPC section provides for bail on default if a charge-sheet is not filed within 90 days from the date of first remand.
Teltumbde and several other activists have been booked under stringent provisions of the UAPA for allegedly having links with Maoists and conspiring to overthrow the government. They were initially booked by the Pune police after violence erupted near Koregaon-Bhima, on outskirts of Pune city, a day after an Elgar Parishad conclave was organised.
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Inflammatory speeches and provocative statements made at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggered the violence at Koregaon-Bhima the next day, the
police had alleged. According to the police, the event was "backed" by Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe into the case.
(With PTI inputs)
