On July 28, Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, an associate professor in the Department of English at Delhi University, was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case. He will remain in judicial custody till August 21. His remand duration with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) ended on August 8.
The NIA had accused Hany Babu, before the special court of having links with the Communist Party of India(Maoists), an organization that is banned in India. Police alleged that several inflammatory speeches were made at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune that was organized on December 31, 2017. The police claim that these speeches had incited violence that had led to a loss of both life and property near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial the following day.
The NIA has accused the 54-year old professor, along with several others, for being co-conspirators in promoting both Maoist activities and the ideologies under the direction of the CPI(M) leaders. On August 2, the NIA had raided his residence in Noida and seized several documents and electronic storage devices. Apart from that, an account ledger and a one receipt book related to the defense and release of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba was also seized. GN Saibaba was recently sentenced to life imprisonment by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court for his links with the CPI (Maoist).
On November 15, 2018, and on February 21, 2019, the Pune police had filed a charge sheet along with a supplementary charge sheet in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case. The NIA had recently taken over the investigation on the case on January 24, 2020. Apart from Hany Babu, 11 others have been charged under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and are accused of being members of banned outfit CPI (Maoist).
Image Credits:Â The New Indian Express https://www.newindianexpress.com
