Prosecution opposes NIA's plea for transfer of Elgar case to special court

The prosecution on Friday opposed the application filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking transfer of the Elgar Parishad-alleged Maoist links case to a special NIA court in Mumbai.

Additional Sessions Judge S R Navandar reserved till February 14 its order on the application.

The court is hearing the NIA's application for transfer of the case. The agency had moved the court after the Union government transferred the probe to the central agency.

Opposing the application on the grounds of jurisdiction, the prosecution said that the reasons given by central probe agency in its application are "not legal and insufficient" to transfer the case to the special NIA court.

"The offence is committed within the local jurisdiction of local court; charge sheet has filed and draft charges have been also filed and the matter is fixed for framing of charges," prosecution said in its response.

The Centre last month transferred the probe from Pune Police to the NIA, a decision which the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in Maharashtra criticised.

The case is related to speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, and the next day's violence near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in the district.

Pune Police have claimed that the conclave was backed by Maoists, and the speeches made there triggered the violence.

During the probe, the police arrested Left-leaning activists Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao for alleged Maoist links.