Navlakha was in touch with ISI, was told to unite intellectuals against govt: NIA

<p id="content">Social activist Gautam Navlakha was in touch with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and was assigned the task to unite intellectuals against the government, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed on Friday in its supplementary charge sheet filed in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case.</p>
The NIA also claimed that Hany Babu, associate professor at Delhi University, was instrumental in organizing the visits of foreign media to Maoist areas and was assigned the tasks of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), a banned terror organization in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The NIA filed the supplementary charge sheet in a special NIA court in Mumbai against eight accused — Navlakha, Babu, Anand Teltumbde, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap, Milind Teltumbde and Stan Swamy — under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Highlighting the role and involvement of Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon case, the NIA in its charge sheet claimed that during the probe, it came up against secret communications between him and CPI (Maoist) cadres.

"Navlakha was assigned the task to unite intellectuals against the government. He was part of some fact-finding committees and was assigned the task to recruit cadres for guerrilla activities of CPI (Maoist)," the NIA said.

"His links with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also came to the fore," it added.

The NIA also said that Babu was instrumental in organizing the visits of foreign journalists to CPI (Maoist) areas and was assigned present and future tasks of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF).

Babu was in contact with a banned terrorist organization, the Kanglepak Communist Party (KCP) of Manipur, and was instrumental in making efforts to release convicted accused G.N. Saibaba on the directions of CPI (Maoist) and was raising funds for the same.

The NIA had arrested Babu on July 28 this year from his residence in Noida, while Navlakha was arrested on April 14 along with Anand Teltumbde.

Citing the role of Swamy, who was arrested from Ranchi on Thursday night and produced before a court in Mumbai on Friday, the NIA said that he was a CPI (Maoist) cadre and was actively involved in its activities.

"Swamy was in communication with other CPI (Maoist) cadres. He propagated among cadres that the arrest of urban CPI (Maoist) cadres from different parts of the country, particularly Maharashtra, has caused a huge irrevocable damage to CPI (Maoist)," the charge sheet said.

The NIA also alleged that Swamy received funds from other Maoist cadres for the furtherance of their activities. It alleged that he was the convenor of PPSC, a frontal organization of CPI (Maoist).

"Incriminating documents related to communications for furthering the activities of CPI (Maoist) and propaganda material and literature were seized from his possession," it said.

The charge sheet also alleged that Anand Teltumbde, Navlakha, Babu, Gorkhe, Gaichor, Jagtap and Swamy conspired with other accused persons to further the ideology of CPI (Maoist) and incited disaffection towards the government established by law and promoted enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, caste and community.

"The absconding accused Milind Teltumbde also organized training camps for imparting weapons training to other accused persons," the NIA claimed in the charge sheet.

The NIA said that Anand Teltumbde, who normally resides in Goa, was one of the convenors of ‘Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan' and was present at Shaniwar Wada, Pune, on December 31, 2017 where the Elgar Parishad program was organized.

"Anand Teltumbde played an active role with other Maoist cadres and received funds from them for carrying out their activities. Incriminating documents revealing his deep involvement with CPI (Maoist) activities have also come to the fore," the agency said in its charge sheet.

The NIA had registered a case on January 24 this year.

The case pertains to inciting people and giving provocative speeches during the Elgar Parishad organized by the activists of Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence resulting in loss of life and property and state-wide agitations in Maharashtra.

During the investigation, it was revealed that senior leaders of CPI (Maoist), an organization banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, were in contact with the organizers of Elgar Parishad as well as the accused arrested in the case to spread the ideology of Maoism and encourage unlawful activities.

The Pune Police had filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet in this case on November 15, 2018 and February 21, 2019, respectively.

The NIA arrested Gorkhe and Gaichor on September 7, while Jyoti Raghoba Jagtap was nabbed on September 8..