By Diksha-
The chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgar Parishad- Bhima Koregaon case claims that activist Gautam Navlakha sought clemency for a convicted ISI agent- Ghulam Nabi Fai.
It further states that Navlakha had links with Pakistan’s infamous intelligence agency- Inter- Services Intelligence (ISI) and he was introduced to the Pakistani ISI General Ghulam Nabi Fai by the ISI. He was in contact with him through email and phone.
Navlakha had reportedly visited the US three times during the period of 2010-2011 and he had written to the US District Court Judge seeking mercy for Ghulam Fai. Fai had been arrested by the FBI in 2011 and convicted for two years over the charges of accepting funds in millions from the ISI and the Pakistan Government i.e. terror funding.
The NIA states that during his US visits, Navlakha even addressed the ‘Kashmiri American Council’ (KAC) organised by Fai.
The chargesheet further iterates that Fai and Navlakha met on several occasions and he was assigned the task of uniting the intellectuals who were against the Government to defeat them physically and otherwise.
The NIA alleges that Navlakha had delivered many speeches in relation to Kashmiri separatists’ movement and CPI (Maoist) movement. On seizure and scrutiny of several documents from Navlakha, it was found out that he was related to the CPI too.
In April, 2020 Navlakha was arrested by the NIA in relation to the Elgar Parishad organised by the members of the Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017 where he is alleged to have given inciteful and provocative speeches that led to enmity between different castes, leading to violence and disuption of property in Maharashtra.
In the investigation conducted by the authorities, it was found out that the senior leaders of CPI (Maoists), an organisation that has been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, were in contact with the Elgar Parishad. They promoted Maoist ideology as well as conducted illegal activities.
The NIA has gone ahead to give evidence to show the possible nexus between Navlakha, Fai and the ISI, and even questioned the funding of Navlakha’s trips to the US, Kashmir and Pakistan.