Mumbai: Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused activist Vernon Gonsalves on Friday withdrew his plea for temporary bail on medical grounds.
His lawyers said the plea was withdrawn as the accused was given required treatment at the state-run J J hospital in Mumbai.
Gonsalves, who is lodged in Taloja jail, has been hospitalised since September 8 for dengue.
However, before the application was withdrawn, advocate Susan Abraham, also Gonsalves’s wife, had submitted an affidavit before the special court saying the activist apprehends there is danger to his health if he is sent back to jail due to non-availability of medication there.
He apprehends that the jail authorities may seek his premature discharge from the hospital and the court should ensure he is not sent to the life threatening conditions of Taloja jail before he is physically fit to be discharged, the affidavit said.
Meanwhile, two other arrested activists in the case, Anand Teltumbde and Sagar Gorkhe, moved a plea in court for mosquito nets in prison.
As per the plea of Teltumbde, despite necessary directions from the court while deciding a similar application of a co-accused, there is no improvement in the condition of Taloja jail where they are lodged.
Mosquito repellent ointments and incense sticks have not been of use, Teltumbde’s plea said, adding that, given his medical condition, he is more susceptible to contracting malaria or dengue.
The court adjourned the matter for further hearing on September 29.
The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claimed triggered violence the next day at the nearby Koregaon Bhima war memorial that killed one person.
The Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named accused, was initially probed by Pune police and later taken over by National Investigation Agency.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Marziya Sharif | 
