Pune session court transfers hearings of Elgar Parishad case to NIA court

Pune, Feb 14: A Pune sessions court on Friday allowed the transfer of the politically sensitive Bhima Koregaon case to an NIA court in Mumbai after Uddhav Thackeray-led-Maharashtra government gave a nod by giving 'No Objection' to the NIA taking over the probe.

However, on Friday, the session court said that it did not have the power to continue with the Bhima Koregaon case although the government had not given a filed No Objection Certificate (NOC).

Besides this, the session court has aslo directed all accused of the politically sensitive case to be present on February 28, before the federal agency NIA court in Mumbai.

On January 1, 2018, Koregaon-Bhima in Pune district boiled up triggering massive violence in the area, during Dalit groups were celebrating 200 years of a British-era battle.

Then Pune police had filed cases against the activists and intellectuals who gave alleged inflammatory speeches at Elgar Parishad gathering, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, a day before the violence.

The critics have accused then BJP government led by Devendra Fadnavis, of jailing activists opposed to its ideology and branding them as "Urban Naxals".

Last week, the NIA filed an application before a sessions court in Pune, seeking transfer of the case, seized data, court records and proceedings to the special NIA court in Mumbai.