Elgar case: Sudha Bhardwaj opposes NIA plea seeking cancellation of her bail; reiterates innocence

Mumbai, Jul 10 (PTI) Elgar Parishad case accused activist Sudha Bhardwaj on Friday opposed the National Investigation Agency's plea seeking the cancellation of her bail, and denied the prosecution's claim of being engaged in illegal activity. The activist emphasised that her interactions with the co-accused were natural given the long period of the shared incarceration. "I deny the allegations made against me in the chargesheet filed by the NIA, and I strongly assert my innocence. I call upon the NIA to prove their allegations in the trial and desist from making malicious, false and frivolous claims," her reply said. NIA has sought cancellation of Bharadwaj's bail along with a few others alleging they violated its conditions by attending a Mumbai Press Club event earlier this year. The probe agency claimed they attended a gathering convened with the intention of propagating Maoist ideology in "blatant and wilful disregard" of bail conditions. The event was convened with the intention of propagating the ideology of the proscribed organization Communist Party of India (Maoist) and to deliberate upon the future course of action for spreading the "Urban Naxal" movement, the prosecution claimed. At the time of granting bail, the trial court had imposed a slew of other conditions on the duo, including not leaving Mumbai without the court's permission, surrendering their passports to the NIA, and not to speak to the media about the case. The court had directed that they shall not commit any other offence either of similar or any other nature. Their participation was in clear contravention of the bail conditions, which prohibit them from engaging in meetings or activities that may further the objectives of banned organizations or pose a threat to public order and national security, the NIA said. However Bhardwaj, in her response said that "no documents or evidence of any kind supporting these wholly false and malicious allegations have been supplied to me by the NIA, and I strongly deny the same". On communication with co-accused, her written response said, "whenever I have communicated with my co-accused, either perforce when we met in court, or on my own initiative, or in accordance with the directions of this court, I have never discussed or engaged in any illegal activity". She cited a long period of "incarceration and undertrial prosecution", during which they "would rely on each other for support and moral courage since we were all in the same boat being wrongly persecuted by the NIA." "In this background, it is most natural and human for me to communicate with my co-accused when we meet in court or outside. Anything else would be to deny our common humanity and our shared suffering," the affidavit stated. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. The Pune police, which probed the case initially, had claimed the conclave was organised by persons with alleged Maoist links. An FIR was lodged on January 8, 2018 under Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA later took over the probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians were arrested. Most of the accused are currently out on bail. PTI AVI BNM