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Pune Court Rejects Anand Teltumbde's Bail Application

Teltumbde, one of the most important writers and intellectuals of his generation, has been accused of being a member of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) by the police
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A sessions court in Pune city of Maharashtra rejected an anticipatory bail application moved by Dalit intellectual and writer Anand Teltumbde on Friday.

Teltumbde, one of the most important writers and intellectuals of his generation, has been accused of being a member of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) by the police.

The police have also accused him of being involved in the organization of Elgar Parishad, a Dalit platform that the police claim is a Maoist front and a trip to Paris, taken allegedly at the behest of the CPI(Maoist).

Teltumbde had sought anticipatory bail in Pune court after the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court refused to quash the FIR against him.

Police cited some letters which they claim were part of Maoist correspondence.

Opposing Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail application, District Government Pleader Ujjwala Pawar had alleged that “Comrade A” and “Comrade Anand” mentioned in those letters was Teltumbde.

She had also sought to link Teltumbde’s underground brother Milind Teltumbde, who is a senior member of the CPI(Maoist), to this case.

However, earlier this week the investigating officer, in this case, ACP Shivaji Pawar had told HuffPost India that they were not going to stress on the fact that his brother is a Maoist.

“There are many persons whose relatives are Maoists. You cant implicate them for that,” Pawar had told this reporter.

Ujjwala Pawar also submitted certain documents in the court in an envelope which allegedly establish that Comrade Anand or A was in fact Teltumbde.

However, when defense lawyer Rohan Nahar asked her if she believes the name “Prakash” mentioned in one of the letters was Prakash Ambedkar (Teltumbde’s brother in law), she said that she had not made any such claims.

The court relied on the observations made by the High Court and Supreme Court while rejecting Teltumbde’s plea to quash the FIR and the documentary evidence produced in an envelope.

“Prima facie, there is sufficient material collected by the investigating officer to show the involvement of the present accused (Teltumbde) in the alleged commission of the offense. The investigation is at a very crucial stage and it appears custodial interrogation of the applicant (Teltumbde) is necessary hence the anticipatory bail application deserves to rejected,” Additional Sessions Judge K.D.Vadane said in his order.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.