Bhima-Koregaon violence: Accused organised lectures in JNU, tried to recruit students', police tells court

Pune Police has told the court that Bhima-Koregaon violence accused allegedly tried to recruit JNU students.

PUNE: Four accused, who were arrested in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence, allegedly organised a series of lectures in Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and tried to recruit young students to join their activities, the authorities claimed.

According to reports, the Pune Police on Thursday told a court the four accused - Sudhir Dhavale, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson - were allegedly involved in planning and executing a lecture series in JNU in Delhi "in the memory" of a Naxal, who was killed in a police encounter.

They allegedly attempted to instigate students to join the banned CPI (Maoist) rebels.

Seeking further custody of the accused, public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar told Additional Sessions Judge KD Vadhane that instigating students to join the banned outfit is a ''deep rooted conspiracy'', which needs to be thoroughly investigated.

Pawara also called it ''a big threat to national security".

"A lecture series in memory of slain Naxalite Naveen Babu, who was killed in a police encounter, was organised in JNU. It was on the Naxalites' directions the lecture series was organised in the JNU campus and the event is to instigate, provoke and motivate students to join this banned organisation," Pawar told the court, according to PTI.

The accused were tasked to execute the lecture series plan at the behest of the CPI (Maoist) outfit, Pawar alleged.

"Documents (seized during the searches) establish that all these accused were involved in anti-national activities. It is very crucial to investigate their role in the execution of the programme and that is why further police custody is necessary," she said.

She also told the court that funds were provided to the execute "anti-national activities".

"It is revealed that to implement anti-national activities, funds were provided and police have recovered Rs 80,000, during the seizure operation, from Wilson's house in Delhi," Pawar said.

She told the court that Wilson was not divulging details of the seized money.

After hearing the submission made by the Pune Police, the court extended the police custody of the four accused - Sudhir Dhavale, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson - till June 21 after they were produced before it.

At least six persons were earlier arrested for alleged links with the Naxals following a probe into violence in Pune district's Bhima-Koregaon town on January 1, a day after Elgar Parishad was held at historic Shaniwarwada in Pune.

The four accused - Sudhir Dhavale, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson - were arrested on June 6 by the Pune Police.

(With PTI inputs)