Elgar case: NIA draft charges claim accused wanted to wage war against nation

The NIA in its draft charges submitted before a special court here in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case has claimed the accused persons wanted to establish their own government and wage a war against the nationThe National Investigation Agency NIA submitted the draft earlier this month and a copy of it was made available on MondayThe draft lays down 17 charges against 15 accused including human rights and civil liberties activists and they have been sought to be charged under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA and the Indian Penal Code IPCThe NIA has alleged that the accused persons were active members of the banned terror outfit CPI MaoistThe arrested accused in the case include activists Sudha Bharadwaj Vernon Gonsalves Varavara Rao Hany Babu Anand Teltumbde Shoma Sen Gautam Navlakha and othersAs per the draft charges the main objective of the accused persons was to establish a Jantana Sarkar peoples government through revolution and armed struggle to seize power from the StateThe draft also claimed that the accused attempted to wage war against the Governments of India and MaharashtraFraming of charges is the first step before trial commences in the case where the prosecution describes the charges against the accused along with the evidence to be relied uponAfter the framing of charges the court will ask the accused whether they plead guilty or not in the caseThe draft further claimed the accused had been playing provocative songs enacting short plays and skits in Pune during the Elgar Parishad meeting and distributing Naxal literatureThat the criminal conspiracy was an intention to bring about secession of a part of territory of India and incite individuals to bring about such a secession it saidIt further alleged that the accused had an intent to strike terror in the minds of people by using explosive substancesThat accused recruited students from various universities including the Jawaharlal Nehru University and Tata Institute of Social Science for commission of terrorist activity it claimedThe accused have been charged under Indian Penal Code Sections 120B conspiracy 115 abetment of offence 121 121A waging war against state 124A sedition 153A arms in procession 5051B statements promoting mischief and 34 common intentionThey have also been charged under UAPA Sections 13 16 17 18 18A 18B 20 punishment for terrorist activities 38 39 and 40 punishment for being part of terrorist organisationThe Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31 2017 which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the KoregaonBhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra cityThe prosecution claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist linksAlso Read Charges in Elgar Parishad case wont be framed till August 25 NIA tells Bombay High CourtThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever