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Sagar Gorkhe announces fast unto death, Gautam Navlakha approaches NIA court seeking mosquito net

Sagar Gorkhe announces fast unto death, Gautam Navlakha approaches NIA court seeking mosquito net


File pic: Sagar Gorkhe

Accused Sagar Gorkhe goes on hunger strike against jail authorities

25/05/2022

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Accused alleges harassment by jail authorities and denial of basic facilities, Co-accused Gautam Navlakha seeks special court’s permission to use a mosquito net
Sagar Gorkhe, a cultural activist who has been locked up in the Taloja Central Jail since September 2020 as a virtual political prisoner in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case, has now gone on hunger strike to protest his inhuman treatment in jail. Gorkhe has written to Maharashtra’s Home Minister, informing him about his decision that he was forced to take due to Taloja Central Jail allegedly harassing him and denying him his basic human rights.
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As Sagar Gorkhe announces fast unto death, Gautam Navlakha approaches NIA court seeking mosquito net

25/05/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

Gorkhe’s letter to Maharashtra Home Minister, Dilip Walse Patil, equates the conditions in Taloja jail to that of a “torture camp”.
SAGAR Gorkhe, an activist and performer with cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch, accused of inciting violence in the Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) case, has written to Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil announcing his hunger strike in protest against the conditions at Taloja jail.
Meanwhile, septuagenarian activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha, who is a co-accused lodged in the same prison, approached the National Investigation Agency (‘NIA’) seeking a mosquito net.
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Elgar Parishad accused alleges harassment by Taloja jail officer

25/05/2022

Mid-day.com / by Faizan Khan

Sagar Tatyaram Gorkhe has written to the state home minister Dilip Walse Patil, threatens to go on an indefinite hunger strike if action is not taken immediately.
Sagar Tatyaram Gorkhe, an accused in Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon accused, has written to Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, alleging harassment by the Taloja Jail superintendent. He has threatened to go on a hunger strike until death.
“It is with extreme distress that I inform you that since the very beginning the prison administration has treated the Bhima Koregaon case accused with utmost prejudice. As a result, the prison has become a torture camp for my co-accused and me. As you must be aware that it was the maltreatment by the prison administration that led to the custodial death of Father Stan Swami last year,” his letter reads.
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Jail officials delaying treatment to all Elgar Parishad case accused: Sagar Gorkhe writes to HM

24/05/2022

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

He has also urged the home minister to immediately stop the scanning of all incoming and outgoing mail by the jail officials.
Sagar Gorkhe, one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, has written to state home minister Dilip Walse-Patil alleging that Taloja jail authorities are discriminating against several accused in the case and deliberately delaying medical treatment to them even though they are suffering from several serious ailments.
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Video Statement by Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor (Sep 5, 2020)


hindi/ english subtitles | 2:20min | 2020

Kabir Kala Manch activists Sagar Gorkhe & Ramesh Gaichor have alleged that they’re being forced by the NIA to give confessional statements, claiming they are a part of Maoist organization. The two refused, and were arrested in The Bhima Koregaon case.
Their statement was recorded on Sep 5, 2020.
Watch their statement

Also read/watch:
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)
● Video: Dafachya Talavar (Songs of Defiance) | Hindi, Marthi (subtitles: English) | 24:01min | 2022

Jail officials took away mosquito net: Gautam Navlakha approaches NIA court

Jail officials took away mosquito net: Gautam Navlakha approaches NIA court

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested on August 28, 2018, from his residence in New Delhi, has been presently lodged in Taloja jail.
Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who has been arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, has approached the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court seeking a mosquito net, alleging that the net he was using was taken away by the prison authorities.
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Also read:
● PUDR: WHEN THE PROCESS BECOMES THE PUNISHMENT (PUDR / April 2022)

And she waits for Gautam Navlakha

And she waits for Gautam Navlakha

mid-day.com / by Ajaz Ashraf

As draconian UAPA ensures freedom eludes the 69-year-old rights activist even after 2 years, Sahba Husain, his partner of 26 years, suffers immensely but keeps the flame of love and resistance burning.
Writer Sahba Husain rattles out from memory all the dates of twists and turns during her ongoing struggle to keep the flame of love and resistance burning. She remembers the date (August 28, 2018) when the Pune Police raided her home to arrest her partner and human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Irony of Sharad Pawar’s support for Bhima Koregaon accused

Irony of Sharad Pawar’s support for Bhima Koregaon accused

Irony of Sharad Pawar’s support for Bhima Koregaon accused

09/05/2022

Deccan Herald / by Vidya

That Pawar has done nothing is a testimony to the clout wielded in Maharashtra politics by ‘Bhide Guruji’
It took Delhi-based writer-activist Gautam Navlakha 75 days to get court permission to walk in the open in Taloja Jail and get the fresh air he’s deprived of in the high-security anda cell he’s been consigned to since October. Seventy-year-old Navlakha, one of 16 intellectuals arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, has been denied a chair despite developing back pain during his two-year-long incarceration. Last month, the Bombay High Court rejected his plea for house arrest and instead directed the Taloja Jail authorities to provide him with whatever medical care he needed.
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Why Sharad Pawar Is Against The Bhima Koregaon 16’s Arrests

06/05/2022

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Despite Sharad Pawar’s assertion, the Maharashtra government has done nothing to ease the suffering of the Bhima Koregaon 16, who have been denied their basic rights to health and to communication with their families while in jail.
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Bombay HC Dismisses Gautam Navlakha’s Plea To Shift Him To House Arrest [read judgement]

Bombay HC Dismisses Gautam Navlakha’s Plea To Shift Him To House Arrest [read judgement]


Desolation of the anda cell / drawing by Arun Ferreira

Jail authorities should have considered books as an essential commodity during COVID: Bombay HC [read judgement]

27/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Satyendra Wankhade

“During such terrible times, nothing more could have provided solace to a jail inmate than a book of his choice,” a Bench of Justices SB Shukre and GA Sanap said.
Jail authorities should have considered books as an essential commodity during COVID-19 pandemic, the Bombay High Court observed while dismissing a plea filed by Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha requesting to be transferred to house arrest from jail [Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Agency & Anr.]
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Read judgement

Bombay High Court dismisses Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking transfer from jail to house arrest

26/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale

A division bench of Justice Sunil B Shukre and Justice Govinda A Sanap also directed the Superintendent of Taloja central prison to ensure medical facilities are provided to the petitioner.
The Bombay High Court Tuesday dismissed a plea by Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, seeking transfer from the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai to judicial custody in the form of house arrest, alleging denial of basic medical care and other necessities.
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Bombay high court dismisses activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea of being shifted from jail to ‘house arrest’

26/04/2022

The Times of India / by Swati Deshpande

The Bombay high court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed filed by activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, seeking that he be placed under house arrest instead of judicial custody in the Taloja Jail as it lacked basic facilities.
He had cited poor health and inadequate medical facilities and lack of basic necessities in prison, as grounds forseeking the shift.
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Bombay High Court Dismisses Gautam Navlakha’s Plea To Shift Him To House Arrest

26/04/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by senior journalist Gautam Navlakha seeking to shifted out of Taloja Prison and be placed under house arrest, instead, in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Caste violence case.
A division bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and GA Sanap said that whatever grievances Navlakha had in prison could be placed before the trial court for appropriate action.
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Bombay High Court dismisses Gautam Navlakha plea to be moved from prison to house arrest

26/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Navlakha was granted liberty to bring to the attention of the Special NIA Judge all difficulties faced by him, which the judge was directed to redress as per law.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea filed by Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha to be transferred from Taloja Prison and placed under house arrest instead.
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India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report

India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report

India figures on list of top 10 ten countries that jail writers, academics & intellectuals

16/04/2022

The Federal / by The Federal

The 2021 Freedom to Write report recently published by Pen America, an NGO, has detailed the arrests of eight people in the country, which includes comedian Munawar Faruqui and those arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case.
India has the dubious distinction of figuring among the top ten list of countries that jail writers, academics and intellectual for their writings, works and advocacy.
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India among top 10 countries to jail writers, academics in 2021, shows Pen America’s report

15/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

This is ‘one element of the ruling party’s attempts to quash dissent and entrench political control’, the United States non-profit organisation said.
… According to the report published on Wednesday, 277 writers and academics were detained or in prison in 36 countries last year. Of them, eight are from India – comedian Munawar Faruqui and Bhima Koregaon accused persons Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira and Anand Teltumbde.
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PEN America’s Writers at Risk Database (India, 2021)

Also read:
● International Mother Language Day: Take Action for Hany Babu (Pen International | Feb 2022)
● Joint Statement: Freedom for Varavara Rao (Pen International | Oct 2021)
● A Dark Day for Democracy and Freedom of Expression (Pen International | Aug 2018)

Umar Khalid statement that he was invited to Elgar Parishad among additional evidence submitted by NIA

Umar Khalid statement that he was invited to Elgar Parishad among additional evidence submitted by NIA


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Umar Khalid Claims He Was Invited To Elgar Parishad By Former Judge Of Bombay High Court

17/04/2022

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) submitted a bunch of additional documents and witness statements to the court in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case, in which student rights activist Umar Khalid claims that he heard that BJP-RSS persons had attacked visitors at the Bhima-Koregaon, near Pune.
On January 1, 2018 several Dalit’s had gathered to commemorate a 200th anniversary of the battle in which the British, with the support of Dalits, defeated the Peshwa army.
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Former Bombay High Court judge Justice BG Kolse-Patil invited me to Elgar Parishad: Umar Khalid to NIA

15/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The statement by Khalid forms part of the additional documents which the central agency submitted to the Special NIA Court in Mumbai in the Bhima Koregaon riots case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recorded statement of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and member of Unite against Hate organisation Umar Khalid in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event of December 31, 2017.
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Umar Khalid statement among additional evidence submitted by NIA to court

15/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

In the evidence submitted to the court, the NIA has included the statement of Khalid, recorded in the office of the deputy superintendent of Tihar jail in New Delhi, where he is lodged in connection with the Delhi riots case.
Nearly two years since the last arrests were made in the Elgaar Parishad case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week submitted before the special court additional evidence running into seven volumes, including the statement of student activist Umar Khalid and documents related to Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest who passed away last year while in judicial custody.
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Heard of BJP-RSS attack day after being at Elgar Parishad, says Umar Khalid

15/04/2022

The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Among the additional documents submitted as evidence against the accused in the Elgar Parishad case is the statement of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, who said that a day after attending the Elgar Parishad meeting in Pune, where he delivered a speech, he came to know that BJP and RSS members attacked those who had come to visit Koregaon Bhima.
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Recounting the ordeal of famed undertrials inside Taloja prison

Recounting the ordeal of famed undertrials inside Taloja prison

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde are among the 16 people arrested for their alleged involvement in the Elgaar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The road outside the jail is paved with little chits, “like snowflakes”.
Sahba Husain, the Delhi-based author, is recalling the indelible markers chiselled into her conscience while she waited last month outside Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai to meet her partner Gautam Navlakha face to face after two years.
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PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) / by PUDR

Tomorrow, 14th April 2022 marks the completion of two years of PUDR activist Gautam Navlakha’s surrender before the NIA. One of sixteen accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, Gautam has been imprisoned in Taloja Central Jail, Navi Mumbai since 25 May 2020.  For more than six months now, since 12 October 2021, the nearly 70 years old Gautam, an undertrial suffering from multiple health problems has been in solitary confinement in one of 33 cells in the ‘anda’ circle, the High Security Area of Taloja Jail, a space meant to segregate those guilty of heinous crimes.
Read more

Also read:
● How the ‘anda cell’ is used to discipline prison inmates (The Indian Express │ Oct 2021)
● System of solitary confinement, ‘Anda Cell’, inside the jail be stopped (Groundxero │ Oct 2021)

Protest for release of activists

Protest for release of activists

Left groups protest across Punjab, seek to revive spirit of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom

17/04/2022

Counterview / by Harsh Thakor

Despite political change of guards, which brought Aam Aadmi Party to power, recent events suggest that Left-wing forces of different shades appear to be steadily gaining ground in Punjab.
… Held on April 8 in Singrur on the very day Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru flung a bomb in the parliament house to symbolise liberation from colonial slavery, the Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Students Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Zameen Prapti Sangharsh demanded unconditional release of political prisoners. Speakers summarised how activists like Gautam Navlakha , GN Saibaba, Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, Varavara Rao, Umar Khalid, Sudha Bharadwaj, Devinder Ghullar etc. were branded for waging a conspiracy against the state as they were posing a question to the autocratic character of the rulers or confronting fascism.
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Protest for release of activists

09/04/2022

Times of India / by TNN

The farmer and student organisations protested in Faridkot on Friday for the release of those who have completed their sentences and of activists who have been arrested on flimsy grounds. Activists of Kirti Kisan Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Punjab Students Union raised slogans for the release of Prof GN Saibaba, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Umar Khalid, Devinderpal Singh Bhullar and others.
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Left leaders protest, seek release of political prisoners

08/04/2022

Tribune of India / by Tribune News Service

Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) New Democracy on Friday held a protest against the non-release of Sikh prisoners who had completed their sentences and imprisonment of political prisoners, intellectuals, writers, journalists and activists in false cases.
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