Bhima Koregaon | NIA files chargesheet against 5

The NIA on Friday filed a supplementary charge-sheet against eight people, including activists Gautam Navlakha and 82-year-old Father Stan Swamy, for their alleged involvement in inciting a mob to violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1, 2018 and accused them of waging war against the state, officials said.

The 10,000-page charge-sheet, filed before a court here, brings in both the threat of Maoists for an “urban revolution” and Pakistan’s ISI, alleging that the eight were involved in spreading the “ideology of Maoism/Naxalism” and encouraging lawless activities.

   

The National Investigation Agency said its probe showed a “systematic network of Maoists” that operated for the supply of arms and ammunition and had a close nexus with “other banned proscribed organisations within and outside India”. Navlakha is alleged to have links with Pakistan’s ISI, according to the NIA.

Ahead of filing the chargesheet, the NIA arrested Swamy, who said he has never been to Bhima Koregaon, from his home in Ranchi on Thursday evening and brought him to Mumbai where he was produced before a court on Friday and remanded to judicial custody till October 23.

Swamy, the sixteenth person to be arrested in the case, is possibly the oldest person to be charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), officials said. Barring one person – Milind Teltumbde who is absconding – all other named in the charge-sheet are in judicial custody.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

5 × 2 =