NIA arrests DU professor

New Delhi: The NIA on Tuesday arrested an associate professor of Delhi University in connection with the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case, an official said. Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, 54, a resident of Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, is an associate professor in the Department of English, a spokesperson of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

The case relates to an Elgar Parishad event of December 31, 2017, organised by the Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Pune, where alleged provocative speeches were made, promoting enmity between various caste groups and leading to violence resulting in loss of life and property and statewide agitation in Maharashtra, the official said.

During investigation, it was revealed that senior leaders of the CPI (Maoist), a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, were in contact with the organisers of Elgar Parishad as well as the accused arrested in the case to spread the ideology of Maoism/Naxalism and encourage unlawful activities, the official of the premier investigation agency said. The Pune police filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet in the case on November 15, 2018 and February 21, 2019 respectively.

The NIA took up the investigation of the case on January 24 this year and arrested Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha on April 14, the official said.

During further investigation, it was revealed that Hany Babu was propagating Naxal activities and Maoist ideology and was a "co-conspirator" with the other arrested accused, the NIA official said.

He will be produced before a special NIA court in Mumbai on Wednesday and his police custody will be sought for custodial interrogation, he said, adding that further investigation in the case was underway.