Ajit Karn
Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) informed the Bombay High Court that activist Gautam Navlakha, who was detained in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist linkages case, had ties to a Pakistani ISI agent detained in the US while on American soil.
The agency further asserted that Navlakha had “done activities that had a direct impact on the national security, unity, and sovereignty” in its affidavit in response to his plea. A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and P D Naik was informed by NIA attorney Sandesh Patil on Monday that the NIA has submitted a reply opposing Navlakha’s bail request.
On February 27, the bench announced that it will hear arguments about the application.
According to the NIA’s statement, Navlakha travelled to the United States three times to give speeches at conferences put on by the Kashmiri American Council, which she often corresponded with Ghulam Nabi Fai.
The NIA stated that Navlakha had sent a letter requesting clemency to the US court presiding over Ghulam Nabi Fai’s case. “Ghulam Nabi Fai was detained by the (US agency) FBI in July 2011 for taking payments from the ISI and the Pakistani government,” the NIA stated.
Gautam Navlakha was “presented to a Pakistani ISI General for his recruitment by Ghulam Nabi Fai on the orders of the ISI,” according to the agency, demonstrating their relationship.
Being allowed by the Supreme Court on the basis of her health, Navlakha is currently under home arrest rather than being imprisoned.
The agency added that Navlakha “espouses Maoist ideology and anti-government remarks through his many lectures and films” and that he has “deep contacts with CPI (Maoist).” It said that the goal of these actions was to topple the government.
According to the NIA, Navlakha was given responsibilities including recruiting cadres for “guerrilla actions of CPI (Maoist)” and organising intellectuals against government troops.
It was stated that he was actively promoting CPI (Maoist) operations in addition to just supporting a terrorist group that had been outlawed.
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According to the police, the Koregaon-Bhima war monument in Pune district was the scene of violence the next day as a result of allegedly inciting remarks made during the Elgar Parishad conclave, which was held there on December 31, 2017.
Authorities had also asserted that Maoists were supporting the gathering. Thereafter, the investigation into the matter, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been implicated, was given to the NIA.
