NIA Court Rejects Medical Bail Pleas of 4 Bhima-Koregaon Case Accused

The court has rejected the bail applications of Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, and Vernon Gonsalves

A special court has rejected medical bail applications of the Bhima-Koregaon case accused Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, and Vernon Gonsalves.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Wednesday, 22 September, rejected the medical bail applications submitted by four Bhima-Koregaon case accused – Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, and Vernon Gonsalves.

The four activists, all of whom are aged above 60, are reported to be suffering from various comorbidities, including chronic bronchitic asthma and hypertension.

Special Judge DE Kothalikar rejected the pleas, relying on the guidelines issued by the High Powered Committee, which had recommended the decongestion of prisons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as per The Hindu.

"The prison authority shall observe medical protocol and provide appropriate medical aid to the applicant if required," he stated, referring to academician Shoma Sen's plea, news agency PTI reported.

Meanwhile, the court extended the interim bail granted to Bhima-Koregaon accused Rona Wilson by three days. Wilson had been released from Taloja jail on 13 September in order to attend a mass that had been arranged following his father's death. He will return to the prison on 30 September.

The case against the Bhima-Koregaon accused relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the 'Elgar Parishad' conclave, which had been held at Shaniwarwada in Pune, on 31 December 2017.

The Pune police had claimed that the speeches had triggered violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located at the city's outskirts, on the day after the conclave. The police had further claimed that the conclave had been backed by Maoists.

A total of 16 activists had been arrested in connection with the case. In June, Father Stan Swamy, one of the accused, passed away, shortly before the hearing of his bail plea. The death of Swamy, whose health had steadily deteriorated in jail, had sparked outrage and triggered international condemnation.

(With inputs from PTI and The Hindu.)