Elgar Parishad case: NIA claims JNU, TISS students recruited to carry out terror activities

NIA said the accused threatened India's sovereignty, integrity, and security by conspiring against the government or civil authorities/public functionaries. (PTI)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today made startling claims in its draft charge sheet filed in connection with the Elgar Parishad case related to Bhima Koregaon violence. In the draft charge sheet, NIA claimed that students of various universities including Delhi’s JNU as well as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) were recruited to carry out terror activities.

In its draft charge sheet filed in court against 22 accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, the NIA said the accused threatened India’s sovereignty, integrity, and security by conspiring against the government or civil authorities/public functionaries.

The draft charge sheet lays down 17 charges against 15 of the accused, including human rights and civil liberties activists. It has sought the court’s permission to charge them under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The NIA has alleged that the accused persons were active members of the banned terror outfit CPI (Maoist). Those who have been arrested in the case include activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao, Hany Babu, Anand Teltumbde, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha and others.

In the draft charge sheet, the NIA said the accused conspired to wage a war against the Central and Maharashtra governments. It said that the accused also conspired to demand and organise Rs 8 crores for the annual supply of M4 (sophisticated weapon) with 4,00,000 rounds and other arms from Nepal and Manipur. The trial in the case can only commence after the framing of the charges.

The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the Pune Police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.