Bhima Koregaon case: SC orders police to keep activists under house-arrest

The Pune police have been left red-faced after the Supreme Court swiped left on the capture of five activists from across the country in connection with the Elgaar Parishad and Bhima-Koregaon case. The three arrested social crusaders who were produced in a Pune court will be sent back home today and placed under house arrest till September 6, when the state will have to respond to SC's concerns about dissent being quelled.

In a major embarrassment for the Pune police, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao - who were presented in the Pune sessions court yesterday - will be sent back home today and be placed under house arrest. This is just two days after the Pune police detained them and two others in a mammoth operation across the country on Tuesday. The other two activists are Gautam Navlakha and Sudha Bharadwaj were not brought to Pune as they had moved local courts in Delhi and Chandigarh following their detention.

Vernon Gonsalves

'Dissent essential'
The Supreme Court came down heavily on the arrests, voicing concerns that dissent was being quashed. "Dissent is the safety valve of democracy, and if you don't allow it, the pressure cooker will burst," observed the bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. Meanwhile, in Pune, the cops tried to present an alarming case in court, stating that they had found highly incriminating evidence against the suspects.

District government pleader Ujjwala Pawar argued, "The nature of the crime is serious and the police need to investigate the case sensitively. Data recovered in raids show the involvement of the suspects... Their major intention is to spread rebellions thoughts against the Government of India."

Three of the five civil rights activists earlier arrested for their alleged Naxalite links appear relieved after SC's order. Pics/Mandar Tannu

She cited the case of writer and poet Varavara Rao: "The arrested person is a noted poet, but as per the letters, his role was that of an arms supplier. There are various letters in which he is mentioned as 'VV', discussing arms procurement from Nepal and Manipur. Such weapons can be brought by road via Chhattisgarh."

At the end, however, when the apex court's order came through, the Pune judge said only: "Supreme Court ka order hain; aap teeno ko house arrest mein bhejne ko bola hain (SC has ordered the three of you to be moved to house arrest)." As per ACP Shivaji Pawar from the Pune police, the trio were to be moved to a guest house for the night, and are expected to return to their homes today (Gonsalves and Ferreira to Mumbai and Rao to Hyderabad). They will remain under house arrest till September 6, when the next SC hearing is scheduled. On the same day, a Pune court will also hear the bail pleas of earlier arrested activists Shoma Sen and Advocate Surendra Gadling.

Pune police spokesperson DCP Shirish Sardeshpande (left) reads out a scripted statement after the SC order, while Jt CP Shivaji Bodkhe listens in

Police red-faced
The entire issue has left the Pune police red-faced and mum. The mood in Commissioner of Police K Venkatesham's office was sombre. He was to brief the media at 11 am, and a message was sent out to that effect. With the turn of events though, the WhatsApp message was later deleted. Around 5 pm, Joint Commissioner of Police Shivaji Bodkhe arrived to brief the media, but remained a mute spectator while Pune police spokesperson DCP Shirish Sardeshpande read a scripted statement in Marathi and English.

DCP Sardeshpande said, "We found highly incriminating evidence like emails, letters, minutes of meetings, and other elaborate communication between the members of the banned CPl(Maoist) party and the arrested accused. The evidence traces back the involvement of the Kabir Kala Manch." He added that the Eastern Regional Bureau, an underground formation of the banned party, allegedly wants to overthrow the government.

Prosecutionspeak
District Government Pleader Ujjwala Pawar argued that all the arrested persons are active members of banned organisation CPI(M), and...

• They had hatched a plan to get Delhi University professor G N Saibaba (serving life sentence for Maoist links in Gadchiroli) out of jail.
• Letter mentions requirement of R8 crore to purchase M4 rifles for assassination and guerrilla attacks, with focus on areas with less security cover.
• "Waging war against the government is what these activists are doing," she said.
• Varavara Rao was procuring arms and 4 lakh rounds of ammunition from Nepal and Manipur, while Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves were in charge of recruiting students (particularly from TISS) for training in jungles.
• CPI(M) is funding their [the activists'] activities, especially after the demonetisation.
• Varavara Rao got funding from his writers' association, Virasam for the activity.

Also Read: Bhima Koregaon case: Human rights activists, lawyers arrested in police raids across the country

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