Bhima Koregaon Case: Anand Teltumbde Surrenders Before NIA

NAGPUR, Maharashtra — Dalit intellectual Anand Teltumbde on Tuesday surrendered before the National Investigation Agency as per the orders of the Supreme Court. The top court had refused to grant him further protection from arrest last week.

He has been remanded to NIA custody till April 18, PTI reported.

Teltumbde has been accused of having alleged Maoist links and being one of the organisers of the Elgar Parishad , a Dalit platform that the police claims was a Maoist front and triggered the violence in Bhima Koregaon in January 2018.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s grandson and leader of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, Prakash Ambedkar, and Maharashtra MLC Kapil Patil accompanied Teltumbde to NIA’s office at around 2 pm on Tuesday.

READ: ‘I See My India Being Ruined’: Anand Teltumbde Writes Open Letter A Day Before He Is To Be Arrested

Many prominent activists and politicians have condemned the arrest of Teltumbde and termed it as “tragic and shameful” for all Dalits, Adivasis, OBC, and minorities of India. 

In an open letter addressed to the “people of India”, Teltumbde on Monday said that the case against him was a “a clumsy and criminal fabrication”.

READ: Outcry As Anand Teltumbde Prepares To Surrender On Ambedkar Jayanti