The Bhima-Koregaon case has, over the last three years, become a subject that has invited intense criticism of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as well as the central government. Father Stan Swamy, another accused arrested in the case, died in July while under treatment at the Holy Family Hospital in Andheri. Swamy (84), had been suffering from Parkinson’s Disease and had, through his lawyers, requested a sipper so that he could drink water easily. However, the NIA took a week to respond to this plea before it was finally provided to him. His applications for medical bail, too, were rejected and he was finally admitted to the hospital in May this year. The case also suffered a severe blow when news reports came to light in February this year, according to which the evidence allegedly recovered from accused Rona Wilson’s laptop was planted. The revelation reportedly came after a forensic audit of his laptop by Arsenal Consultancy, a US based private firm, at the behest of the American Bar Association.The gag on speaking to the media has raised eyebrows, especially since the prosecution, media and government agencies are not forbidden to discuss the charges against her, to plant leading questions to sow seeds of doubt and influence the trial and prejudice the court. All this had been resorted to when she and the other co-accused were arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon case in the first instance.So, is the gag order on her fair? Why can’t she talk about what she has gone through, her treatment in prison and the conditions in prison, for example? Surely that cannot influence the case which is ‘sub judice’?Bharadwaj (60), a lawyer and an activist working in the field of human and tribal rights, was arrested by the Pune police on August 28, 2018 in connection with the violence that broke out in Bhima-Koregaon on December 31, 2017. Bharadwaj was one of the several activists who were arrested in the case, which was subsequently transferred to the NIA.(This article was first published in National Herald on Sunday)
Source link
