Elgar-Parishad case: NIA court denies default bail to five accused

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here on Tuesday rejected the default bail plea of academician Shoma Sen and four other accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. Special NIA judge Rajesh J Katariya denied default bail to professor Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dawale, activist Rona Wilson, advocate Surendra Gadling, and Mahesh Raut.

The accused had originally filed the application for default bail in 2018 at a sessions court in Pune when the case was being probed by the police.

The accused, in their plea, had claimed that the 90-day extension granted by the sessions court for filing of charge sheet in the case was "illegal", and hence, they were entitled for default bail under provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city's outskirts.

The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

The probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later transferred to the NIA.