Bhima Koregaon Case: Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Ferreira And Vernon Gonsalves Sent to Judicial Custody For 14 Days
The Supreme Court ordered the police to keep the five activists under house arrest and not to send them to jail.
Pune, November 6: Activists Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves, all three accused in Bhima Koregaon violence case have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days by Pune Sessions Court. According to an ANI update, one of the accused Ferreira alleged in Court that he was beaten up during custodial interrogation. He said on November 4 during the interrogation that he was slapped about eight to ten times by police officials and that on November 5, he was taken to hospital as well. Bhima Koregaon Case: Supreme Court Stays Bombay HC Order Refusing Extension of Time to Police to File Chargesheet.
The Pune Police had arrested lawyer Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson in June for their alleged links with Maoists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The arrests had followed raids at their residences and offices in connection with the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31 last year, which, the police had claimed, had led to violence at Bhima Koregaon the next day. After the arrest of the activists in August, historian Romila Thapar had moved a petition in the Supreme Court saying the police crackdown is linked to the left-leaning viewpoints of the activists.
The Supreme Court ordered the police to keep the five activists under house arrest and not to send them to jail.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 06, 2018 03:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).