NIA Moves Mumbai Court To Cancel Bhima Koregaon Accused Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera's Bail
As per NIA, Ferreira and Gonsalves attended a gathering at the Mumbai Press Club where other accused persons were present.
A Mumbai Court has directed accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira to respond to the NIA's plea.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has moved a Mumbai special court to seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case over alleged violations of bail conditions.
Special Judge Chakor S Baviskar on Wednesday granted time to the accused to file their replies. The NIA has told court that Gonsalves and Ferreira attended a gathering at the Mumbai Press Club on January 19 where other accused persons were present and this violated the conditions set by the bail order.
The case has been adjourned to June 19, when the court will hear a batch of pending applications, including multiple discharge applications, pleas for modification of bail conditions, and requests relating to prison facilities, electronic evidence, and travel permissions.
In 2023, Supreme Court had granted bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Bhima Koregaon Violence case relating to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
NIA in its draft charges had claimed that the accused persons wanted to establish their own government and "wage a war against the nation". The accused in the case were charged under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Gonsalves and Ferriera had been directed to not leave the state of Maharashtra and surrender their passports. Furthermore, the two accused have been asked to inform about their residing address to the NIA investigating officer, along with their mobile numbers, which shall remain active and charged round the clock. "The location status on these phones shall be active at all times. They shall also appear weekly before SHO of the jurisdiction they reside at", the court has ordered.
Gonsalves’ had approached the Supreme Court, after his bail application was rejected by the Bombay High Court in 2021. He is lodged in Pune jail from August 28, 2018 in respect of offences punishable under UAPA. The High Court had then granted bail to co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj, but had rejected the default bail plea of eight other co-accused in the case including Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling and Varavara Rao.