Elgar Parishad case: Anand Teltumbde released from Taloja central prison
1 min read . Updated: 26 Nov 2022, 08:03 PM IST
Premium- The 73-year-old was released a day after the Supreme Court rejected the NIA's plea challenging his bail.
An accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case activist Anand Teltumbde on 26 November was released from the Taloja central prison in Navi Mumbai.
The 73-year-old was released a day after the Supreme Court rejected the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) plea challenging his bail. He had spent two-and-a-half years behind bars in the case and walked out of the jail around 1.15 pm.
"I am happy after being released from prison after 31 months. It is obvious, but the sad thing is that this is the fakest case and it put us behind bars for years," Teltumbde said, while speaking with the media.
Earlier on 25 November, the Supreme Court had dismissed the NIA's plea challenging the Bombay High Court's order giving bail to Teltumbde.
The activist was released after the completion of bail formalities a day later. He was granted bail by the High Court on 18 November and was arrested by the central agency on 14 April, 2020.
The HC had observed that prima facie there was no evidence showing his involvement in any terrorist acts. Teltumbde is the third of the 16 accused arrested in the case to be released on bail.
Apart from Teltumbde, poet Varavara Rao is currently out on bail on health grounds while lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj is out on regular bail.
According to details, the case elates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. Pune Police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by some persons with alleged Maoist links.
A FIR was lodged by Pune Police on January 8, 2018, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and NIA later took over the case. Teltumbde had claimed he was not present at the December 31, 2017 Elgar Parishad event held in Pune city.
With PTI inputs.
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