Elgar case: NIA says Stan Swamy is a Maoist, opposes his bail plea in HC

The National Investigating Agency NIA has opposed the bail plea filed by Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy in the Bombay High Court saying the Elgar Parishad case accused was a Maoist who engaged in activities to spread Naxalism and that he was part of a ldquodeep rooted controversy to overthrow the governmentrdquoThe central agency urged the HC to dismiss the plea of Swamy 84 saying his allegations of fabricated evidence his denial of having played any role in the said conspiracy and other charges against him were all ldquoendeavours to confuse truth with falsehood and to create a mist around the evidence and realityrdquoIn an affidavit filed in the HC earlier this week the NIA opposed the appeal filed by Swamy through his counsel senior advocate Mihir Desai in which the priest had challenged a special courts order denying him bail on health grounds as well as on merits in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links caseSwamy who has told the HC on several occasions that he suffers from advanced stage of Parkinsons disease a brain disorder and many other ailments is currently undergoing treatment at a Mumbaibased private hospital where as per the hospital report his condition is ldquocriticalrdquo and he is in ldquoneed of intensive carerdquoIn its affidavit however the NIA has said there is no proof that Swamy suffers from Parkinsons or any other sever ailment ldquoAppellant accused Swamy has filed alleged medical documents The same is not conclusive proof of alleged Parkinson disease or lumbar spondylosis Moreover the said medical documents which are disputed including documents dated September 24 2019 are more than oneyearold reports It is categorically submitted that the appellantaccused be put to strict proof of facts as alleged in the said documentsrdquo the affidavit readsAlso ReadBombay HC extends activist Stan Swamys stay at private hospital till July 5The central agency said the special NIA court had been judicious while denying Swamy bail and that the court had taken into account that the prison authorities at Taloja where Swamy has remained lodged as an undertrial since his arrest in October 2020 were well equipped to provide him necessary aidIt further said electronic evidence collected in the case had revealed that Swamy was an active member of the CPI Maoist and that he and his coaccused were part of a ldquodeeprooted conspiracy to commit an offence against the staterdquo and to ldquodisturb public tranquilityrdquo Swamy and the other accused in the case intended to spread ldquothe ideology of MaoismNaxalismrdquo the affidavit readsThe agency claimed to have relied upon several books and literature that it recovered during raids at Swamys residence in Ranchi before his arrest to conclude that the tribal rights activist should be arrested and arraigned as an accused in the case These include ldquoliterature of 50 years of Naxalbarirdquo letters exchanged between Swamy and his associates on ldquomobilizing adivasisrdquo and a ldquoguide on encrypted data communication on GSM networkrdquo among other thingsThe antiterror agency further said while Swamy had tried to pretend before the courts that he was not well versed with technology he had deleted several incriminating files from his personal computer before his arrest The NIA had recovered the deleted files it said in the affidavit ldquoThe act of deleting the files shows Swamy was trying to escape from criminal justice This act shows the accused is a very technologically sound personrdquo the affidavit reads A bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar was presiding over Swamys appeal against the special court order denying him bail in March this year The bench adjourned the hearing to July 3 after taking the NIAs affidavit on record It also permitted advocate Desai to file a rejoinder to the affidavit by the next date of hearingThe bench also extended Swamys stay at the private Holy Family Hospital in suburban Bandra where he is undergoing treatment in the ICU till July 5 The Elgar Parishad case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at a conclave held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31 2017 which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the KoregaonBhima war memorial on the western Maharashtra citys outskirtsThe Pune Police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists The NIA later took over the probe into the case in which several activists and academicians have been named as accusedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever