Bhima Koregaon: Court pulls up prison officials for not replying to Dr Anand Teltumbde’s plea for home food

The special NIA court pulled up prison authorities for not sending a report on the application filed by activist Dr Anand Teltumbde for home food.

Teltumbde had moved an application for home food on August 28 where he had also raised issues related to his health. The court had directed the superintendent of Taloja jail to submit a report and also take him for a medical check-up. The prison authorities were asked to submit a reply by September 4. The prison has still not filed a report on the plea before the special court.

Annoyed with this the court observed, “In number of matters this court has observed that whenever a report is called for either from the Superintendent of Taloja, Central Prison or Mumbai Central Prison they do not bother to submit timely reports, resultantly it compels the court to keep such application pending for want of reports from the prison authorities. Hence the Superintendent of Taloja Central Prison and Mumbai Central Prison are directed to submit the reports on fixed dates, else this court will be constrained to initiate action for not following the orders of the court.”

The court has informed the concerned commissioner of police for information and also to take necessary action. The court has now asked the prison authority to submit the report on the next hearing scheduled in December.

Teltumbde, an engineer and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) graduate who used to teach at the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) and at the Goa Institute of Management, was arrested after the Supreme Court refused to grant him protection. On April 14, Teltumbde surrendered before NIA in Mumbai. NIA had said it needed to probe Teltumbde’s alleged links with the banned outfit, Communist Party of India (CPI, Maoist).

According to the prosecution, Teltumbde delivered a “provocative presentation” and speeches on December 31, 2017, during an event at Shaniwarwada in Pune, which led to the violence at Bhima-Koregaon in January 2018, state-wide agitation and loss of life. NIA has alleged Teltumbde was the convener of the programme and his call data records show he was in touch with the other arrested accused present at the event.