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Tag: Sagar Gorkhe

‘You are immortalised in our hearts’: A cellmate’s letter to Stan Swamy on his death anniversary / Protest Fast by 11 Co-Accused

‘You are immortalised in our hearts’: A cellmate’s letter to Stan Swamy on his death anniversary / Protest Fast by 11 Co-Accused

‘You are immortalised in our hearts’: A cellmate’s letter to Stan Swamy on his death anniversary

05/07/2022

Scroll.in / by Vernon Gonsalves

The Jesuit priest, who had been arrested in the Bhima Koregoan case, died in custody on July 5, 2021, at the age of 84.

Dear Stan,
It’s now around a year to the day they said you went away. But it doesn’t seem as if you’ve gone. Guys like you can hardly just go away. Not from me at least, not from many many more you worked with and amongst. Actually you haven’t gone, in fact you’ve come. You’ve come to the lakhs who’ve come to know you over the last year and you’ll continue coming, down the ages, to millions more. You can’t go away, you won’t go away.

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On Father Stan Swamy’s Death Anniversary, Elgar Parishad Activists Observe Protest Fast in Prison

05/07/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Activists and lawyers have accused the jail administration of inhuman treatment towards and lack of adequate medical care for the priest and other accused in the case.
On July 5, last year, 84-year-old Jharkhand-based tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy died in judicial custody in Mumbai.
Swamy was the 16th and last person to be arrested in the highly controversial Elgar Parishad case. He, like his co-accused in the case, suffered from prolonged and serious health complications while in custody. Swamy passed away after testing positive for COVID-19. His co-prisoners and lawyers have blamed the state for not allowing adequate medical help to reach him on time.
A year later, protesting against alleged state apathy and lack of accountability, 11 of his co-prisoners have decided to observe a day-long fast on the day of Swamy’s passing.
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Eleven activists accused in Elgar Parishad case observe day-long fast in Taloja prison on 1st death anniversary of Stan Swamy

05/07/2022

Midday.com / by pti

The protesting activists alleged that the death of Father Stan Swamy (83) was “brutal assassination by the prison administration, the NIA, and the government.” Swamy’s co-accused and activist Sudhir Dhawale, in a letter written to the Taloja prison superintendent and the case lawyers, claimed there has been no change in the jail condition, including general apathy among the prison administration and lack of medical facilities, which were among the several causes that led to Swamy’s death.
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Also read
How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in / Aug 2021)

Bhima Koregaon: Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each

Bhima Koregaon: Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanwala

In the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, leading activists, lawyers, scholars and artists have been arrested without trial under the charges of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (‘UAPA’). According to the police, allegedly provocative statements and speeches made at the Elgar Parishad meeting in Pune on December 31, 2017, instigated the violence at Bhima Koregaon the following day on January 1, 2018 that led to death of one and injuries to several others …

The Leaflet brings to its readers a brief profile of each of the arrested persons, and the developments in the case pertaining to each.
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And Ma can’t sing with Sagar

And Ma can’t sing with Sagar

Midday / by Ajaz Ashraf

Sagar Gorkhe, termed Maoist twice and sent to jail, where he fights for the rights of the inmates, continues writing songs—of hope: “From wounds shall burst out vines/Learning how to blossom again”
agar Gorkhe, a Dalit accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, was on the fourth day of his hunger strike at Mumbai’s Taloja Central Jail when his mother Surekha learnt about it, via a WhatsApp forward on her daughter’s mobile. Surekha stopped taking food. Her family and members of the Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural troupe to which Sagar belongs, tried to coax her into eating. 
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Also read:
And he waits for Shoma Sen (Midday.com / May 2022)
And she waits for Gautam Navlakha (Midday.com / May 2022)

Maharashtra MLC met Sagar Gorkhe in jail / On 7th day of his hunger strike Sagar Gorkhe called it off

Maharashtra MLC met Sagar Gorkhe in jail / On 7th day of his hunger strike Sagar Gorkhe called it off

Bhima Koregaon accused calls off hunger strike

28/05/2022

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

Sagar Gorkhe began “fast unto death” on May 20 alleging harassment by jail authorities.
Bhima Koregaon accused Sagar Gorkhe called off his hunger strike on Friday after Member of Legislative Council Kapil Patil met him at Taloja Central Jail.
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Maharashtra MLC to meet Bhima Koregaon accused Sagar Gorkhe in jail

27/05/2022

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

He has been on an indefinite hunger strike alleging harassment by jail authorities.
Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) Kapil Patil will visit the Taloja Central Jail to meet Bhima Koregaon accused Sagar Gorkhe, who is on an indefinite hunger strike alleging harassment by jail authorities.
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Also read:
Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration (By Sagar Gorkhe / May 20)

Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration

Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration

By Sagar Tatyaram Gorakhe

To,

Honourable Home Minister,

State of Maharashtra,
Home Department, Mantralaya
Mumbai
Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration.

Subject:

Sir,

I, Sagar Tatyaram Gorakhe, am a Political Prisoner under the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregao Case, and have been locked up in the Taloja Central Jail since September 2020. It is with extreme distress that I inform you that since the very beginning the prison administration has treated the Bhima Koregao 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. Even today our basic human rights are being trampled over every day in the prison. It is because the situation has become absolutely unbearable that I must resort to an agonising hunger strike in protest.

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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.
Read more


Also read:
PUDR: WHEN THE PROCESS BECOMES THE PUNISHMENT (PUDR / April 2022)

Four accused move special NIA court seeking discharge application ahead of framing of charges

Four accused move special NIA court seeking discharge application ahead of framing of charges

Four accused move special NIA court in Mumbai seeking discharge application

30/04/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

After the youngest accused in the Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) case, Jyoti Jagtap of the Kabir Kala Manch [KKM] filed an application on Wednesday seeking discharge, more accused have approached the National Investigation Agency [NIA]’s special court seeking discharge from all the charges imposed against them in the 2018 case.
Among the other accused, scholar, writer and activist Anand Teltumbde, activist Mahesh Raut, and activist and publisher Sudhir Dhawale sought discharge from charges in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
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Three accused seek discharge in Elgar Parishad case ahead of framing of charges

29/04/2022

India Today / by Vidya

Three more accused have filed discharge applications in the Elgar Parishad case ahead of the framing of charges.
Three more accused have filed applications seeking discharge ahead of the framing of charges against them in the Elgar Parishad case. Accused professor Anand Teltumbde, Dalit scholar Sudhir Dhawale and activist Mahesh Raut have filed the applications. The Special Court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act will now be hearing the four discharge applications, including that of Jyoti Jagtap.
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Activist Anand Teltumbde moves discharge application

28/04/2022

The New Indian Express / by pti

Activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, on Thursday moved a discharge application before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here, stating that the probe agency has not produced any material to show that he is a member of CPI (Maoist) or his alleged role in the case.
… Besides Teltumbe, other accused Sudhir Dawale and Mahesh Raut also sought discharge from the case.
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Anand Teltumbde seeks discharge from Bhima Koregaon case, says no material to show he is linked to CPI (Maoist)

28/04/2022

Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

Regarding an allegation of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that he is a member of the banned organization, he has pointed out that a witness cited by the NIA in its supplementary charge sheet had mentioned a book authored by him titled ‘Anti-Imperialism and Annihilation of Caste’.
Professor and Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case has sought a discharge from the case, stating in his plea that the investigating agency has not produced any material before the court to show that he is a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
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One accused files discharge plea in special court, five more intend to do so today

28/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Special judge Dinesh E Kothalikar said the Bombay High Court has directed that the case be proceeded with on a daily basis and that he expects cooperation from both parties so that charges can be framed.
In the Elgaar Parishad case, accused Jyoti Jagtap filed a discharge application on Wednesday, while five others also sought to file discharge pleas on Thursday before the special court. The court had directed all accused to remain present before the court on Wednesday to proceed with framing of charges against them.
Read more


Also read:
Charges to be framed next week, all accused asked to remain present in court (The Indian Express / April 2022)
NIA files draft charges against accused in Elgar Parishad case (India Today / Aug 2021)

Jyoti Jagtap files discharge plea in special court, five more intend to do so

Jyoti Jagtap files discharge plea in special court, five more intend to do so

One accused files discharge plea in special court, five more intend to do so today

28/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Special judge Dinesh E Kothalikar said the Bombay High Court has directed that the case be proceeded with on a daily basis and that he expects cooperation from both parties so that charges can be framed.
In the Elgaar Parishad case, accused Jyoti Jagtap filed a discharge application on Wednesday, while five others also sought to file discharge pleas on Thursday before the special court. The court had directed all accused to remain present before the court on Wednesday to proceed with framing of charges against them.
Read more


Jyoti Jagtap files for discharge

27/04/2022

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The Elgaar Parishad was an event held on December 31, 2017, in Pune’s Shaniwar Wada to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. It had approximately 35,000 people in attendance.
Jyoti Jagtap, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for her purported involvement in the Elgar Parishad case, on Wednesday filed for discharge citing a lack of evidence against her.
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Youngest accused Jyoti Jagtap moves Special Court for discharge

27/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Jagtap was arrested on September 8, 2020 and a chargesheet was filed in October 9, 2020.
Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) member and youngest accused in the Bhima Koregaon case Jyoti Jagtap has filed an application before the Special Court seeking discharge from all charges in the 2018 case.
Read more


Also read:
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)
NIA files draft charges against accused in Elgar Parishad case (India Today / Aug 2021)

Why Sharad Pawar is called to depose as witness / Cop questioned about ‘provocative’ speech by Elgaar Parishad organiser

Why Sharad Pawar is called to depose as witness / Cop questioned about ‘provocative’ speech by Elgaar Parishad organiser

Why Sharad Pawar is called to depose as witness before Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry?

28/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The commission had earlier summoned Pawar to depose as a witness on February 23 and February 24. But on February 21, he sought adjournment of his hearing as he wanted more time for filing an additional affidavit with detailed information and it was granted.
… After the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, including the NCP, came to power in the state, Pawar held a press conference on February 18, 2020, and made allegations against right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote, Sambhahi Bhide and raised doubts about the role of the Pune city police in the investigation of Elgaar Parishad case.
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Repeal Section 124A of IPC; UAPA provisions sufficent: Sharad Pawar to Bhima Koregaon Commission

28/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Pawar also stated in his affidavit that responsible media can act as a bridge of communication between protesters and government/ police authorities and ease tensions and avoid misinformation.
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises sedition, should be repealed because provisions under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are sufficient to deal with offences against the nation and national security, the Member of Rajya Sabha and Chief of Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar told Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission on Wednesday.
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Cop questioned about ‘provocative’ speech by Elgaar Parishad organiser in Aurangabad

27/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Dhawale is among the persons arrested by the Pune City Police for their alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist in the Elgaar Parishad case. The case has been taken over by the NIA.
IPS officer Ravindra Sengaonkar, who earlier deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, was cross-examined on Tuesday on various points including an alleged provocative speech made by activist Sudhir Dhawale in Aurangabad, a week before the Elgaar Parishad.
Read more


Also read:
Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan │ Dec 2020)
Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)