Urban naxals discussed laying of booby traps and directional mines

Pune, Oct 27: There is prima facie evidence to suggest the involvement of these persons with a banned group, a special court at Pune said while rejecting the bail of three persons in the Elgaar Parishad case, popularly known as the urban naxal case.

The court rejected the bail pleas of Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferriera and Vernon Gonsalves. This paved the way for the police to all of them into custody.

Special Judge, K D Vadane said that at this stage, the material collected by the investigating officer, prima facie reveals the involvement of the present accused. The investigation is at a very crucial stage, therefore in my view the present accused are not entitled for bail, the judge also observed.

It may be recalled that the three said to be sympathetic towards naxalites had been arrested along with New Delhi based, Gautam Navlakha and Hyderabad based Varavara Rao. The police said that these persons played a role in organising and financing the Elgaar Parishad which was held on December 31 2017. With the help of naxalites, they played a role in inciting the violence, when lakhs of people had assembled to attend the 200th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Several persons were injured, while one was killed in the violence.

The prosecutor in the case, Ujjwala Pawar told the court that it was sufficient for the Pune Police at this stage to establish a prima facie case against the accused. It is a settled principle that at the time of deciding bail application, it is necessary to take into consideration whether the prosecution has made a prima facie case against the accused persons in respect of the offence alleged against them, she further stated.

The prosecution also submitted in the court a document dated January 2 2018, which contained the minutes of a meeting of a naxal front organisation attended by Sudha Bharadwaj. The document allegedly pointed towards a discussion to intensify tactical training for women cadres of the banned outfits. It also discussed laying booby traps and directional mines.