Hours after activist Anand Teltumbde was arrested by Pune police from Mumbai airport, Pune Sessions Court has ordered that he be released, stating that his arrest flouts the Supreme Court’s order which granted him interim protection from arrest till February 11. Teltumbde was arrested on Friday in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case after a Pune court denied him bail.
The Pune Sessions Court termed Teltumbde’s arrest as illegal and ordered his immediate release. The court reiterated that the Supreme Court had granted him interim protection from arrest till February 11 and in that time, he can approach the competent authority for bail or pre-arrest bail.
Anand Teltumbde, a professor at the Goa Institute of Management, is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. While denying him bail, the Pune court had cited that there was sufficient evidence that was presented to the court in a sealed cover to show that Teltumbde had links with Maoists and the Elgar Parishad conclave.
Elgar Parishad was the event which was held to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Bhima Koregaon, a venue which is celebrated for the resilience displayed by the Dalit soldiers in the British army who fought against the Peshwas.
Teltumbde’s arrest had triggered massive outrage with several activists and users on social media terming it as ‘illegal.’
The Supreme Court had, on December 21, 2018, granted Teltumbde interim protection from arrest for a period of four weeks. As per the order, Teltumbde could be arrested after the completion of four weeks from the date of order unless he could get bail from the lower court. On January 14 the Supreme Court extended the protection up to February 11.