NIA Court Grants Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Rona Wilson Temporary Bail for Two Weeks Following Father’s Demise 7 Sep 2021
The special NIA court also said that Wilson should not leave the limits of his native place in Kerala and maintained that no prayer for extension of the bail will be entertained.
Special judge D E Kothalikar granted the temporary relief from September 13 to Wilson on a personal bond of ₹50,000 and one or two sureties in the same amount. Kothalikar also directed the accused to surrender his passport to the court before leaving for his native place Neendakara in Kollam city of Kerala.
The court also said that Wilson should not leave the limits of his native place and maintained that no prayer for extension of the bail will be entertained.
Wilson had moved the special court seeking temporary bail to visit Kerala after his father, Jacob, died on August 18. The last rites were performed on the following day. In his plea, Wilson said that he had last met his father in 2018 in Alappuzha.
The NIA earlier told a special court here the presence of the accused for the mass was not required, adding that the final rites were already over and Wilson was simply creating a ground for his release.
Special prosecutor Prakash Shetty, appearing for the NIA, told the court there were chances of Wilson carrying out some illicit activity if released on bail, and that he may also influence witnesses.
Special NIA Judge D E Kothalikar is likely to pass an order on Wilson”s plea on Tuesday.
Wilson, who was arrested in June, 2018 and is presently lodged at the Taloja prison, sought temporary bail to go to Kerala and attend the mass.
Wilson and several other activists were initially booked by the Pune police after violence erupted near Koregaon Bhima, on the outskirts of Pune city, on January 1, 2018, a day after the Elgar Parishad conclave was organised.
Police had said inflammatory speeches and provocative statements made at the conclave, which it claimed was “Maoist backed”, triggered violence at Koregaon Bhima.
The case was transferred to the NIA in January last year.
On Monday, three other accused in the case, namely Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Surendra Gadling, were produced before the court.
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