NO LINK BETWEEN ELGAR PARISHAD AND KOREGOAN BHIMA VIOLENCE, 2 ACCUSED TELL HC

MUMBAI: Activists Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen, arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad-maoist links case, told the Bombay High Court on Monday that there was no connection between the Elgar Parishad event held on December 31, 3017 and the Koregaon Bhima violence that took place a day after.

Their counsels, senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, further told HC that the FIR against the activists had been registered in the aftermath of the Koregaon Bhima incident, which pertained to rioting and violence, and not to any terrorist activity. There was no legal ground for the activists to have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the counsels told a bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar.

Advocate Jaising also raised questions on the authenticity and legal admissibility of the electronic evidence the National Investigating Agency (NIA) claimed to have recovered from Wilson’s computer, and from the electronic devices of the other accused in the case. She said the HC must direct an investigation into the alleged tampering of legal evidence.

The bench was hearing pleas filed by Wilson and Sen challenging their prosecution under UAPA and seeking that all charges against them in the case be quashed. In their pleas filed in HC in April this year, Wilson and Sen said the case against them was based on forged and hearsay evidence that was planted on devices allegedly belonging to co-accused Wilson. The activists cited the report of a US digital forensic firm which claimed an incriminating letter and other material had been planted on the computers of Wilson and several of his co-accused in the case.

On Monday, the advocates for the accused told HC that the Elgar Parishad event and the one at Koregoan Bhima took place at a distance of 7 kilometres, and two separate FIRS were registered for the two incidents.

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