Additional Public Prosecutor seeks alleged mastermind's remand for further probe, special court grants three days
Charred remains of a firefighting vehicle following the violence on January 1 near Pune. File Pic
A special district court yesterday remanded 61-year-old Milind Ekbote, president of Samast Hindu Aghadi and alleged mastermind of the January 1 Koregaon-Bhima violence, in police custody till March 19. The police submitted that on the day of violence, Ekbote was around 500 metres from the incident spot and, hence, needs to be probed.
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After the SC rejected Ekbote's anticipatory bail application on Wednesday, a team from the Pune Rural police had arrested him from his home in Shivajinagar. He was produced in court around 11 am yesterday under cover of heavy police bandobast led by sub-divisional police officer (Daund division) Ganesh More. Additional Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar argued for 14-day police custody to investigate the 'conspiracy' as well as publishing of provocative pamphlets, and procuring details of calls made from his mobile phone, which Ekbote had claimed he had lost.
"Ekbote claimed his mobile phone and SIM were lost, but that's a lie. Call data records revealed that the number had been used to communicate with several people between January 2 and 11. We have recorded statements of five people who said they had spoken to him on that number. We are investigating the SMSes and WhatsApp messages he sent from his phone," she said. "Ekbote was in Perne Phata area on January 1 with five youths. He had given them some letters and statements to draft, which they had circulated. For this, his custody is important."
Police report states Ekbote had held meetings with four to five youths at Sonai Hotel near Perne Phata, 500 metres from the Vijay Stambh of the Koregaon-Bhima battle. "He is refusing to open up about the youths. Two youths had brought pamphlets with objectionable contents and distributed them. We have to investigate where these were printed and whether more such pamphlets are still with the accused," the report adds.
Lawyerspeak
Ekbote's lawyer S K Jain claimed his client had voluntarily surrendered before the police, spent more than 20 hours in custody and had already been questioned four times. "He suffers from high sugar and needs medical assistance. He should be in the judicial magistrate's custody," Jain added. Ekbote told the court, "I have no complaint against the police; I cooperated with them and continue to. Whatever I had, I have given to them. I have nothing to hide."
Also Read: Bhima-Koregaon violence: Right-wing leader Milind Ekbote arrested in Pune
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