india

Updated: Apr 14, 2020 14:20 IST

Activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde on Tuesday surrendered before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Elgar Parishad-alleged Maoist links case, his lawyer said on Monday.

Teltumbde’s surrender coincides with the birth anniversary of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.

Teltumbde and several other civil liberties activists were booked under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly having Maoist links and conspiring to overthrow the government.

The activists were booked initially by the Pune police following the violence that erupted at Koregaon Bhima there.

As per the police, the activists had made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which it said triggered violence the next day.

The police also said they were active members of banned Maoist groups. The case was later transferred to NIA.

Teltumbde and activist and co-accused Gautam Navlakha were yet to be arrested as they were given interim protection by the Bombay High Court while their pre-arrest bail pleas were being heard.