Elgar Parishad case: NIA opposes accused Jyoti Jagtap’s bail plea, says she was spreading CPI (Maoist) activities in urban areas

Activist Jyoti Jagtap, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has moved the Bombay High Court for bail claiming false implication but the National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed her plea saying she was spreading activities of the banned CPI (Maoist) in urban areas.

The NIA in its affidavit stated that Jagtap was an active member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) who was spreading activities of the banned “terror group” in urban areas and had undergone training for using weapons and explosives.

Jagtap’s plea came up for hearing before a division bench headed by Justice Ajey Gadkari on Tuesday. The high court posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.

While Jagtap, a singer-cum-artist, claimed she was innocent and the NIA has failed to establish any prima facie evidence against her, the agency said Jagtap had made efforts to mobilise Dalits at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, to protest against the government and to create hatred against the government.

The NIA further alleged that Jagtap underwent training for using weapons and explosives in 2011. This claim was refuted by Jagtap in her petition.

“Jagtap had made efforts to gather a huge public mob of Dalits and other organisations to the Elgar Parishad conclave held on December 31, 2017, to protest against the government and to create hatred against the government,” the agency said in an affidavit.

“Jagtap was also responsible in maintaining the accounts of funds in order to facilitate the organization of the Elgar Parishad conclave,” the NIA said.

According to investigators, provocative speeches were allegedly made at the conclave triggering violence around Koregaon Bhima in the Pune district on January 1, 2018. The Pune Police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

Jagtap (34) had filed an appeal in the HC challenging a February 2022 order of the special court refusing to grant her bail.

She is accused of singing and raising provocative slogans at the Elgar Parishad conclave along with other members of the Kabir Kala Manch group.

According to the NIA, Kabir Kala Manch is a frontal group for the banned terror outfit CPI (Maoist).

Jagtap was arrested in the case in September 2020 and has been lodged at the Byculla women’s prison in Mumbai since then.

“The appellant (Jagtap) is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case and she has nothing to do with the alleged offence,” the plea said, adding that the NIA has failed to establish any prima facie case against Jagtap.

The petition further said while she was named as an accused in the case by the Pune police (which was initially probing the case), her name was not included in the charge sheet (filed by the Pune police).

Jagtap was arrested only after the NIA took over the probe, it said.

“The prosecution has failed to bring anything on record to suggest that the appellant was a member of Kabir Kala Manch or any banned terror organisation,” the petition said.

It added that Kabir Kala Manch is a cultural group which through music and poetry tries to bring communal harmony and secularism back into Indian society.

The NIA in its reply to the bail plea claimed that Jagtap and other accused, who are members of the Kabir Kala Manch, used the Elgar Parishad conclave to establish contact with CPI (Maoist) members.

The agency alleged that Jagtap and other accused attended meetings organised by Elgar Parishad conclave members and efforts were made to gather a huge mob of Dalits and other organisations against the government and to create hatred against the government.

“In furtherance to the conspiracy and directions from CPI (Maoist) senior members, in order to propogate their agenda, planning and coordination was done all over Maharashtra,” the NIA said.