Elgar case: Anand Teltumbde's NIA custody extended till Apr 25

A special court here on Saturday extended till April 25 the National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody of Dalit scholar and activist Anand Teltumbde, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-alleged Maoist links case. Teltumbde was arrested by the NIA on April 14 after he surrendered before it following the Supreme Court's directives.

Teltumbde, the grandson-in-law of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar, was produced before a special NIA court judge A T Wankehede after his remand ended on Saturday. Special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty submitted that his custody for seven more days was needed as the agency was yet to complete its probe. The court allowed its plea. The agency told the court that it wanted to verify with the accused the contents of his social media account. 

Voluminous documents have been recovered from the co- accused in the case, which need to be verified with him, it said. The agency said that the accused had received funds from the CPI (Maoist) and there was a "deep-rooted conspiracy" between him and unidentified persons associated with the banned terrorist organisation, which needed to be probe.

Besides Teltumbde, civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, a co-accused in the case, had alsosurrendered before the NIA in Delhi on April 14. His anticipatory bail plea was also rejected by the apex court. He is currently in the custody of the investigating agency in the national capital. Teltumbde, Navlakha and nine other civil rights activists have been booked under the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for having alleged Maoist links and conspiring to overthrow the government.

The activists were booked initially by Pune Police following violence that erupted at Koregaon Bhima in the district. According to police, the activists made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered the violence the next day. The police also said that these activists were active members of banned Maoist groups. The case was later transferred to NIA.