Elgar Parishad Case: NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet |
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Mangaluru: Weeks after the Mumbai Press Club created a controversy over defendants in the Elgar Parishad case visiting the club, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has now swooped in. The central agency, which is handling the controversial 2018 case, on Thursday, May 15, sought cancellation of the bail granted to two accused – Telugu poet-activist Varavara Rao and lawyer-academic Sudha Bharadwaj.
In the application moved before the special NIA court, the agency claimed that on January 19, the accused visited the Mumbai Press Club and interacted with their co-accused in the case, which is in violation of their bail conditions.
Rao, who is 85 years old, was granted bail in February 2021 after his health deteriorated inside jail. Among the many bail conditions listed in the interim order passed by the lower court is a prohibition on communication with his co-accused. “He shall not try to contact or communicate with co-accused or any other person involved in similar activities,” one of the points in the interim bail order, granted on medical grounds,........