Bhima-Koregaon Case: Pune Court Rejects Bail Pleas of 6 Accused

Cops accompany protesters in Mumbai on 2 January 2018 against the violence in Bhima Koregaon in Pune. Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: PTI)

A Pune sessions court rejected the bail pleas of six accused in the Bhima Koregaon case on Wednesday, 6 November.

Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Varavara Rao and Sudhir Dhavle had filed the bail applications, arguing that the police had not produced any substantial evidence against them.

The prosecution opposed the pleas, saying there was material to show links between the accused and Maoists.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had rejected bail to three other accused — Sudha Bhardwaj, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira — in connection with the case.

According to Pune Police, inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in the city on 31 December 2017 triggered caste violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in the district the next day (1 January 2018).

The violence at Bhima Koregaon village had left one dead and several injured, including 10 policemen.

The situation grew worse, when some people reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of the 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Year's Day.

The conclave had the backing of Maoists, the police claimed, while arresting several Left-leaning activists and writers in the case in June and August of 2018.

Meanwhile, activist Gautam Navlakha, another accused in the case who has not been arrested, has also moved the sessions court seeking anticipatory bail. The court will hear his plea on 7 November.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)