Activists hail Sudha Bharadwaj's release, seek relief for co-accused

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Some prominent activists on Thursday hailed the release of Sudha Bharadwaj from jail and demanded that the other accused arrested in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case too be set free.

Slamming the Union government, activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan said one day her tormentors will be held to account.

Bharadwaj (60), a human rights activist, was released from a prison here on bail earlier in the day after spending over three years behind bars.

Accused of being part of a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the Union government, she was granted bail on technical grounds by the Bombay High Court on December 1.

Welcome back Sudha Bharadwaj, the indefatigable crusader for human rights for the downtrodden, after spending over 3 years in jail on trumped up charges. One day, your tormentors will be held to account. Hope others similarly jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case are also released soon, Bhushan tweeted.

Indira Jaisingh, another senior lawyer, tweeted Bharadwaj's photograph after walking out of prison. What a smile. Released at 1241pm today, she wrote.

Shalini Gera, a human rights activist and colleague of Bharadwaj's, said all the friends and family members were happy that she had been released.

"We are happy after the relief which Sudha got today. I will not say anything about the bail conditions, but our sympathies are also with other colleagues, who are still in the prison," Gera said, adding they will also get justice "as the case is fake.

Dalit leader and Congress MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani also urged the courts to release the others arrested in the case.

Where bail not jail is the rule, Sudha Bharadwaj had to spend three years in jail for her speech that has been alleged to cause violence. We urge the courts for early release of all those who have been made political scapegoats of the highest order under draconian laws like UAPA, he said.

The case in which Bharadwaj and others have been arrested relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in the district.

The Pune police, which initially handled the case, had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The probe was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency.