E-Paper
Milind Ekbote granted bail
A city court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to president of the Samsta Hindu Aghadi, Milind Ekbote, who was booked by the Kondhwa Police for his alleged objectionable comments, while opposing the construction of “Haj House” in Kondhwa, by the Pune Municipal Corporation
A city court on Friday granted interim anticipatory bail to president of the Samsta Hindu Aghadi, Milind Ekbote, who was booked by the Kondhwa Police for his alleged objectionable comments, while opposing the construction of “Haj House” in Kondhwa, by the Pune Municipal Corporation.
Ekbote, who is accused in a case registered by Pune rural police during the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018, also claimed in the video that Kondhwa area is home to “sleeper cells” and is a “mini Pakistan”.’
“The high court has said that no religious place can be built without prior permission from the government, but the PMC has found a way out of this by terming the “Haj House” as a cultural centre. The Samsta Hindu Aghadi will not let it happen,” Ekbote said in a video shot in front of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
A complaint in the matter was lodged by Satish Bhaskar Kale (47), a resident of the NIBM road, who is a member of the Sambhaji Brigade and part of the Maratha Seva Sangh.
“The aim of that video was to destroy peace in the Kondhwa area and cause communal violence; if anything of that sort happens, Milind Ekbote will be solely responsible for it,” read a part of the complaint lodged by Kale.
A case under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot); 153(a) (hurting religious sentiments); 153(b), 295(a), 298 (uttering words etc., with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person); 500 (defamation); 501, 502, 505(1)(c), 505(2), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy); and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code along with Sections 66(a) and 66(b) of Information Technology Act was registered at Kondhwa police station against Ekbote
Additional sessions judge GP Agarwal granted bail on a personal bond of ₹15,000 and surety of like amount on the condition that Ekbote will not tamper with evidence and cooperate with the investigating agency as and when required.
Ekbote had filed the anticipatory bail application through advocate SK Jain and Amol Dange.
While granting the bail, the judge stated, “Upon perusal of the FIR, it transpires that, there is delay in lodging the FIR. The applicant has only brought to the notice of the fact about the construction of Haj House under the name of Civil and Cultural Centre upon the land which is in the possession of Pune Municipal Corporation and which cannot be carried out as per the verdict of Hon’ble High Court, Bombay and the Hon’ble Apex Court as per GR dated 5th November, 2016.
All the alleged offences are triable by court of magistrate. The applicant is ready to co-operate the investigation machinery. In the alleged set of facts narrated in the complaint, the custodial interrogation of the applicant is not necessary at this stage.”
