Letters show 'links between activists and Top Maoists': Prosecution tells court

Letters seized during the searches show that the Left-wing activists arrested in the Elgar Parishad case had connections with some top Maoist leaders, the prosecution told a court here on Friday.

District Judge K D Vadane is currently hearing bail applications of activists Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested in June and August this year.

Pune police has evidence of their involvement in a larger conspiracy to undermine the sovereignty of India, public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar said, opposing the bail pleas.

"The seized letters reveal a conspiracy of the banned CPI (Maoist) to abet frequent protests by instigating Dalit sentiments in various parts of the country," she said.

The Maoists and their sympathisers thought that these protests will "gradually break down the law and order and it will have political ramifications," she added.

Pawar also read out some letters allegedly referring to top Maoist leaders who carry rewards on their heads.

"One of the letters mentions 'comrade G', who has been identified as comrade Ganapathy, who is the general secretary of CPI (Maoist) and carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head. Another letter has a mention of 'comrade M', who is comrade Dipak alias Milind Teltumbade (and) who carries a reward of Rs 40 lakh on his head," the prosecutor said.

Police found Teltumbade's photo on activist Rona Wilson's laptop, she said. Wilson was among the activists arrested in June.

One of the letters from "comrade Prakash" to Gadling stated that the activist had been given the critical responsibility of recruiting young cadres to strengthen the bases where Maoists have suffered major setbacks, Pawar said.

Gadling was also asked to procure explosives from a mining contractor in Bijapur, she said.

Another letter said arrested activist Sudhir Dhawale was working with Maoist cadres Deepu and Mangalu to prepare for Elgar Parishad two months in advance, the prosecutor claimed.

The sender of this letter instructed the accused to exploit the death of a youth in the violence at Bhima Koregaon on January 1 this year and instigate people against the government, Pawar said.

Pawar also countered the defence's claim that the Indian Association of People's Lawyers (IAPL) is a reputed lawyers' body working for the marginalised people and not a Maoist front, as alleged by police.

Gadling, a lawyer himself, is IAPL's office-bearer.

Citing a seized letter, Pawar said that some underground Maoists attended a conference organised by the IAPL on the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on June 24, 2017.

As per one of the seized letters, it was said at a meeting of the IAPL in Hyderabad that one "Parvez" had good relations with Kashmiri separatists, and he was to be consulted while recruiting "professional revolutionaries" from states like Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi, Pawar argued.

The arguments will continue on Saturday.

According to police, some of the backers of the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31 last year had links with Maoists, and the event led to the violence at in Maharashtra's Bhima Koregaon next day.