Filing an opposition to the anticipatory bail plea of Professor Anand Teltumbde who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, the Pune police have claimed that custodial interrogation of Teltumbde is required in order to ascertain his specific role for the offences of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Police told the Bombay High Court that it is necessary to allow sufficient opportunity to the investigating agency to collect the evidence. The prosecution on Tuesday had claimed before the court that they have enough evidence to prove Teltumbde’s involvement in insurgent activities to destabilise the government through banned Maoist organisations, which he was a member of.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Panwar representing the Pune Police in the matter has alleged that Teltumbde, a Professor at Goa Institute of Management, along with other co-accused was involved in a criminal conspiracy and had committed unlawful activities for the CPI in pursuance of the conspiracy.
The written argument submitted by the prosecution before the court stated: “This was done with an intention to promote disharmony and feeling of enmity, hatred or ill will, which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religions, languages or religious groups or caste or communities to create disaffection against India or the Government of India, or encourage persons to undertake unlawful activities like riots, violent act and terrorist activities”.
The Professor had filed an appeal before the Supreme Court requesting the court to quash the FIR filed by the Pune police against him which was quashed by the court on January 14. But he was granted four-week protection from arrest by the court and also the permission to apply for bail before the trial court. Thereafter he had applied for anticipatory bail before the Bombay High court on January 18.
The Maharashtra police had raided and arrested several alleged Urban Naxals last year alleging that the Elgar Parishad led to the Bhima Koregaon violence.
