Elgar Parishad: NIA arrests 3rd member of Kabir Kala Manch

On Monday, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor were arrested and they have been remanded to NIA custody till September 11 by the special NIA court.

A day after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 2 members of the cultural organisation Kabir Kala Manch in connection to the Elgar Parishad case, the agency on Tuesday arrested Jyoti Raghoba, the third member of the organisation.

The NIA headquarters at CGO Complex in New Delhi. (HT file photo)

On Monday, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor were arrested and they have been remanded to NIA custody till September 11 by the special NIA court.

People aware of the development claimed that Jagtap was placed under arrest by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Pune on Tuesday morning and was later handed over to the NIA.

According to the NIA, the three accused Jagtap, Gorkhe and Gaichor, “were propagating Naxal activities and Maoist ideology”, and were co-conspirators with the other arrested accused. “It has also come on record that they were in contact with Milind Teltumbde, who is absconding, about the urban network of CPI (Maoist). Also, it is established that during their visits [of Kabir Kala Manch members] in the jungle, they underwent weapon and explosive training, and awareness programme on various topics related to Maoist movement,” the agency said in a press statement.

“It is also established that as per the evidence on record, in June 2018, Teltumbde discussed the Elgar Parishad programme which was organised at Pune and the subsequent in-roads made by the CPI (Maoist) in the organisation and execution through the members of Kabir Kala Manch and other frontal organisations,” the NIA statement added.

The three accused were named in the original first information report (FIR) registered by the Pune police against the organisers of the event held at Shaniwarwada on December 31, 2017. According to the FIR registered at Vishraumbaug police station, on January 8, members of Kabir Kala Manch had allegedly made provocative speeches, sang songs and performed skits that led to violence at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018.

The initial investigation was conducted by Pune police, and two charge sheets were filed in the case. The probe was transferred to NIA earlier this year. The agency has so far arrested Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha and Hanybabu Musaliyavirtil Tarayil.

An organisation set up for the accused — Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerana Abhiyan — after the arrest of Jagtap, released a statement seeking release of the three.