[Bhima Koregaon] Youngest accused Jyoti Jagtap moves Special Court for discharge

Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) member and youngest accused in the Bhima Koregaon case Jyoti Jagtap has filed an application before the Special Court seeking discharge from all charges in the 2018 case. .Jagtap was a member of the KKM, a banned organization under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). It was alleged that the cultural group which took up social causes through their music and poetry had been formed after the Gujarat riots of 2002.Jagtap was arrested on September 8, 2020 and a chargesheet was filed in October 9, 2020.It was alleged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that she met with wanted-accused Milind Teltumbde in Korchi, and during their stay underwent training related to use of weapons, explosives and physical activities.It was the NIA’s case that Jagtap had attended meetings with the Elgar Parishad's organisers who were allegedly trying to gather a huge public mob of Dalits and other organisations against the government to create hatred against it..Jagtap sought discharge in the case through Advocates Shareef Shaikh and Kritika Agarwal on the following grounds: That Jagtap is innocent and falsely implicated in the case;That there had been a delay of 8 days in filing the First Information Report (FIR) and that despite being an accused in the FIR, she had not been arrested for over 2 years;That the Pune Police, which was initially investigating the case, did not file a single chargesheet against her and did not arrest her because her role was limited to the Elgar Parishad event and the NIA had failed to bring out any new material recovered against her;That the NIA failed to bring on record any new material recovered against her which led to her arrest;That NIA failed to bring anything on record to suggest that Jagtap was a member of Kabir Kala Manch or banned terrorist organization;That NIA failed to produce the bank statement of Jagtap to suggest that she had received any illegal fund for the programmme;That there was a difference between the NIA and the Pune Police's versions of the facts that led to the filing of the FIR;According to the Pune Police, it was Sudhir Dhawale with KKM members that organised the event; however the NIA has contended that KKM members like Ramesh Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe and Jagtap were organisers;That the prosecution has failed to bring even a single piece on record to suggest that she was aware of any conspiracy or was part of any conspiracy;That the prosecution is trying make Jagtap look guilty by association.

[Bhima Koregaon] Youngest accused Jyoti Jagtap moves Special Court for discharge

Neha Joshi

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