The Pune Police have arrested Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde in the Bhima Koregaon case for his alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist, officials said on Saturday.
Teltumbde who is a professor at Goa Institute of Management was detained by the police at Mumbai airport in the early hours of Saturday, a day after a special court in Pune rejected his anticipatory bail application.
He was interrogated and later arrested, said Shivaji Bodkhe, Joint Commissioner of Pune Police.
He will be produced before the court in Pune, he said.
"Teltumbde was interrogated and later arrested by the Pune Police. He would be produced in the court later in the day," said Shivaji Bodkhe, Joint Commissioner of Pune Police.
His arrest comes a day after a special court in Pune rejected his anticipatory bail application.
"Since his pre-arrest bail plea was rejected by the court in Pune on Friday, we decided to arrest him today," Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivaji Pawar, who is investigating the case, said.
Teltumbde's lawyer Rohan Nahar, however, termed the arrest illegal, saying the Supreme Court had given him protection from arrest till February 11.
"His arrest is a contempt of the apex court order, and we will move a plea against it," he said.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising took to Twitter to protest the activist's arrest.
"Dr Anand Teltumbde arrested at 330am at Mumbai airport by Pune Police in Gross violation of SC order giving him protection from arrest till 11th February, this is contempt of the order of the Supreme Court of India #ReleaseDrAnandTeltumbde immediately," she said.
On Friday, Additional Sessions Judge Kishor Vadane observed that an investigating officer has collected sufficient material "to show the involvement of the present accused (Teltumbde) in the alleged commission of the offence".
The prosecution had on Thursday submitted an envelope in the Pune court containing "evidence", claiming that it proves Teltumbde's involvement in Maoist activities.
Teltumbde had filed the anticipatory (pre-arrest) bail application before the Pune court after the Supreme Court rejected his plea seeking to quash the FIR against him in the Elgar Parishad case.
According to police, Maoists had supported the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, and the inflammatory speeches there led to violent clashes at the Bhima Koregaon war memorial the next day.
(With inputs from Agencies)
