Academic Teltumbde appears before police for questioning after HC order
Asseem Shaikh, Vishwas Kothari | TNN | Feb 15, 2019, 06:26 IST
Anand TeltumbdePUNE: Senior academic Anand Teltumbde — facing arrest in the Elgar Parishad case for his alleged links with the banned CPI (Maoist) — appeared before assistant commissioner of police Shivaji Pawar on Thursday for his questioning, as directed by the Bombay high court.
“I am cooperating with the police and I do not want to speak about their interrogation as the matter is sub judice,” Teltumbde told TOI during the lunch break. The police continued with his questioning till 5.30pm.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Pawar, the investigation officer (IO) of the case, told TOI, “We have called him for questioning at 10am on February 19 instead of 18, as mentioned in the high court (HC)’s order, as we have to be present in the HC on February 18 for the hearing of activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea for quashing of the FIR against him.”
Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail plea is being heard by the high court. It had directed him on February 11 to report to the IO on February 14 and 18 and cooperate with the investigation till his plea was finally decided. The plea is slated for next hearing on February 22.
It is the police’s case that Teltumbde and the nine accused arrested so far in the case were active members of the CPI (Maoist), which was behind organizing the Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017, as part of a larger conspiracy to create social unrest, domestic chaos and overthrow government.
The police claimed alleged inflammatory speeches and provocative statements made at the Elgar Parishad contributed to the January 1, 2018, caste clashes at Koregaon Bhima on Ahmednagar highway, about 30km from the city.
Pawar said, “The high court has given us two days for questioning him (Teltumbde). We have recorded his statement and will continue with our questioning. I cannot elaborate at this stage what he is being asked.”
Pawar said the police had filed an affidavit in the high court opposing Anand Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail plea and seeking his custodial remand for the investigation.
A source in the Pune police said, “Much of Teltumbde’s questioning on Wednesday was based on the voluminous chargesheet the police have filed in the Elgar Parishad case against Surendra Gadling and the four other activists who were arrested on June 6.”
The police have prepared a detailed questionnaire for Teltumbde’s questioning during the two days.
Earlier, Teltumbde, a senior professor with the Goa Institute of Management at Sanquelim in Goa, arrived in a car from Mumbai at the office of the ACP, Swargate division, near Jedhe Chowk around 9.45am. He was accompanied by his wife, Rama, daughter, Rashmi, and sister-in-law Anjali Prakash Ambedkar, besides, his lawyer Parth Shah.
The police asked the family members and lawyer Shah to wait outside the room where Teltumbde was being questioned by Pawar and his team.
As the day progressed, a small crowd of Teltumbde’s supporters gathered in front of the office of the assistant commissioner of police, Swargate division. Teltumbde interacted with the supporters for a while before leaving for his lunch.
“I am cooperating with the police and I do not want to speak about their interrogation as the matter is sub judice,” Teltumbde told TOI during the lunch break. The police continued with his questioning till 5.30pm.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Pawar, the investigation officer (IO) of the case, told TOI, “We have called him for questioning at 10am on February 19 instead of 18, as mentioned in the high court (HC)’s order, as we have to be present in the HC on February 18 for the hearing of activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea for quashing of the FIR against him.”
Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail plea is being heard by the high court. It had directed him on February 11 to report to the IO on February 14 and 18 and cooperate with the investigation till his plea was finally decided. The plea is slated for next hearing on February 22.
It is the police’s case that Teltumbde and the nine accused arrested so far in the case were active members of the CPI (Maoist), which was behind organizing the Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017, as part of a larger conspiracy to create social unrest, domestic chaos and overthrow government.
The police claimed alleged inflammatory speeches and provocative statements made at the Elgar Parishad contributed to the January 1, 2018, caste clashes at Koregaon Bhima on Ahmednagar highway, about 30km from the city.
Pawar said, “The high court has given us two days for questioning him (Teltumbde). We have recorded his statement and will continue with our questioning. I cannot elaborate at this stage what he is being asked.”
Pawar said the police had filed an affidavit in the high court opposing Anand Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail plea and seeking his custodial remand for the investigation.
A source in the Pune police said, “Much of Teltumbde’s questioning on Wednesday was based on the voluminous chargesheet the police have filed in the Elgar Parishad case against Surendra Gadling and the four other activists who were arrested on June 6.”
The police have prepared a detailed questionnaire for Teltumbde’s questioning during the two days.
Earlier, Teltumbde, a senior professor with the Goa Institute of Management at Sanquelim in Goa, arrived in a car from Mumbai at the office of the ACP, Swargate division, near Jedhe Chowk around 9.45am. He was accompanied by his wife, Rama, daughter, Rashmi, and sister-in-law Anjali Prakash Ambedkar, besides, his lawyer Parth Shah.
The police asked the family members and lawyer Shah to wait outside the room where Teltumbde was being questioned by Pawar and his team.
As the day progressed, a small crowd of Teltumbde’s supporters gathered in front of the office of the assistant commissioner of police, Swargate division. Teltumbde interacted with the supporters for a while before leaving for his lunch.
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