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Elgar Parishad case: Police file chargesheet against top Maoist Ganapathy, 4 others
The 1,837-page supplementary chargesheet comprising accusations based on electronic evidence was submitted in the court by ACP Shivaji Pawar.
PUNE: Pune police on Thursday filed a supplementary chargesheet in a special Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) court against five persons — Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferriera, Vernon Gonsalves and top fugitive Maoist operative Ganapathy — in connection to the Elgar Parishad case.
Muppala Lakshamana Rao alias Ganapathy, 72, a top Maoist commander, stepped down as general secretary of the banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist) central committee on November 7, 2018.
According to police officials, Ganapathy was made accused in the case eight days ago. The chargesheet states that Rao along with Ganapathy and other accused actively participated to achieve the goals of CPI (Maoist).
The chargesheet, which runs into 1,837 pages and comprises accusations based on the electronic evidence, was submitted in the court of Additional Sessions Judge (Special Judge) Kishor Vadane by Shivaji Pawar, assistant commissioner of police and the investigating officer in the case.
“Rao and advocate Surendra Gadling, who has also been arrested and chargesheeted in the Elgar case, shared crucial information about security forces with underground operatives of CPI (Maoist). Based on that information, the operatives carried out violent attacks against the security forces,” the chargesheet said.
The police have also accused human rights activists Ferriera, Gonsalves and Bharadwaj of carrying out “recruitment” of operatives for CPI (Maoist), while Rao, known poet, was accused of raising and providing money for the organisation, the chargesheet states.
“The evidence seized from Rao indicates that he is a senior member of CPI (Maoist). Rao, while in contact with Ganapathy, also actively took efforts to achieve the goals of banned outfit,” states the chargesheet.
It accuses Rao of being in touch with senior Maoist member in Nepal “Basanta”, who helped the former in procurement of arms and ammunition.
“Today we have submitted a supplementary chargesheet against five persons accused in the Elgar case. The chargesheet comprises a large number of electronic evidence, which the investigating team retrieved from electronic devices seized from the activists during our investigation,” said Shivaji Bodkhe, joint commissioner of police.
The Pune police, in November 2018, filed a chargesheet against 10 persons, including the five arrested on June 8, for their alleged Maoist links, which according to the police “aggravated” the violence at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018.
The Elgar Parishad conclave was organised at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, a day before violence erupted in Bhima Koregaon where large number of Dalits had come to observe the bicentennial celebrations of the 1818 battle of Bhima Koregaon.
The supplementary chargesheet also states that the Pune police had recovered a document named ‘Present Situation and Our Tasks’ during the searches at activist Rona Wilson’s home in Delhi. “The document distributed by the central committee of CPI (Maoist) under the title ‘Present Situation and Our Tasks’ guides members about ‘fighting” against Brahminism by gathering various communities, including Dalits and Adivasis. Page 16 of the document also talks about terror activities of the organisation,” the chargesheet states.
