No link between Elgar Parishad and Maoists: Defence lawyer

There is no evidence showing a connection between the Elgar Parishad, a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, and Maoists, the defence lawyer argued in the sessions court here on Thursday. The court is hearing bail pleas activists Rona Wilson and Varavara Rao, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

Advocate Rohan Nahar, their lawyer, refuted police's allegation that Maoists had supported the conclave. There was no connection, shown by any tangible evidence, between the event and Maoists, he said.

The letters and emails, allegedly exchanged by some of the accused with Maoist leaders (which the police have produced as evidence), have several discrepancies, such as the absence of addresser and addressee, he said.

Pune Police had claimed that some of the scanned letters seized from the accused's computers spoke of a plan to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Advocate Nahar argued that no prudent person will scan the letters which discuss such plans and store them on computers, and the letters were fabricated evidence.

The hearing will continue on October 17. According to Pune Police, inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad fuelled caste violence the next day at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in the district.

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