Navlakha cites cash crunch & ailing sister, seeks court nod for permanent Delhi stay
MUMBAI: Citing
financial strain
, unemployment and an ailing 86-year-old sister,
journalist Gautam Navlakha
, an accused in the
Elgar Parishad case
, recently filed a plea before the special
NIA court
seeking permission to permanently reside in Delhi. Navlakha who was initially granted bail in 2023 but released from custody in 2024, currently lives in Bandra West.
The plea said that the 72-year-old and his partner, Sahba Hussain, 73, are permanent residents of Delhi, where they have their home, employment, and social connections. "Over time, it has become uneconomical and burdensome for him to cope with the increasing finances. He has been struggling to meet up with the basic necessities such as house rent, bread and butter, travel, etc. Both of them are surviving out of their savings," the plea submitted through advocate Wahab Khan said.
Navlakha was initially arrested in Delhi on April 14, 2020, and has been living in Mumbai since his release. The court directed the NIA to submit its reply.
The plea said that Navlakha and Hussain had struggled to find accommodation in Mumbai for about four months due to his pending case. "Prior to his arrest, the applicant-accused was an eminent journalist based in Delhi. During his stay in Mumbai, the applicant-accused has been unemployed and financially dependent on friends and family to date. With time, it has become extremely difficult for him to sustain a stable lifestyle in Mumbai," the plea said. It cited Navlakha's pending personal matters in Delhi and his familiarity with the area and the city. "The applicant-accused has a long-pending trial to face which requires finances. Hence, it is crucial for him to be employed and financially stable," the petition said.
Through the plea, Navlakha also assured the court he will report to the nearest police station in Delhi. "The applicant-accused shall make himself available to the investigating officer as and when required. The applicant-accused undertakes that he will make himself available and present before this...court as and when required....undertakes that his absence will not cause any delay in trial or any sort of further investigation," the petition said.
The NIA has alleged the Dec 31, 2017, Elgar Parishad at Shaniwarwada, Pune, was funded by Kabir Kala Manch activists and allegedly provocative speeches were made that promoted enmity between groups that eventually led to violence the following day at Bhima Koregaon.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
22 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
NIA to probe ex-Bajrang Dal leader's murder in Karnataka
The Centre has handed over the probe into the murder of former Bajrang Dal member Suhas Shetty in Karnataka last month to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), officials aware of the matter said on Sunday. The ministry of home affairs (MHA), in its notification dated June 7, ordered the central agency to investigate the case, citing implications on national security and the need to uncover a larger conspiracy. 'The Central Government is of the opinion that a Scheduled Offence under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008, has been committed... and it is required to be investigated by the National Investigation Agency in accordance with the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008,' the notification said. According to police, Suhas was travelling with five of his associates near Kinnikambla in Bajpe area of Mangaluru on the night of May 1 when their vehicle was intercepted by five-six assailants, who then dragged the 30-year-old out of the vehicle and hacked him to death. The incident triggered communal tensions in the region, prompting authorities to impose prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). So far, twelve people have been arrested in connection with Shetty's murder. The Centre's decision comes a month after the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka demanded an NIA inquiry into the incident, with the party accusing the Congress-led state government of 'going soft' on the issue. 'Why is the Congress government unwilling to hand over the case to the NIA? What are they afraid of?' BJP lawmaker Captain Brijesh Chowta said on May 5, after the Congress dismissed the murder as a case of personal rivalry. When asked about NIA taking over the probe, chief minister Siddaramaiah, on Sunday, said, 'I have asked DG and IGP MA Saleem to seek legal advice from the advocate general.' In its notification, the MHA said that the murder appeared to be a targeted killing carried out in public to create fear, allegedly by members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI). 'In this case, sections 10 r/w 41, 13, 15, 17, 18 & 20 of UA(P) Act, 1967 are attracted, as it is related to targeted killing of an individual in public view with the intention to create terror in the minds of people and the accused persons involved in the case are allegedly members of Popular Front of India (PFI), an unlawful association,' the order read.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
NIA court directs protection of witnesses in Gurugram twin blasts case
1 2 Chandigarh: The special NIA court for Haryana in Panchkula has directed the police and central agencies to ensure the protection of six key witnesses named in the chargesheet filed by the investigative agency in connection with the twin blasts outside two nightclubs in Gurugram on Dec 24 last year. While directing the investigating agencies and law enforcement authorities to ensure the protection of witnesses, the NIA court, presided over by Additional District and Sessions Judge Rajiv Goyal, also directed the protection of relevant and crucial documents containing statements and details of witnesses. Notably, on Friday, NIA filed a voluminous chargesheet before the NIA court. While filing the chargesheet, the agency termed the incident as part of a plot to create terror as operations of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) group and indicted Goldy Brar, the Canada-based gangster and terrorist, and US-based Randeep Singh, aka Randeep Malik, as accused in the case. According to the chargesheet, the group is alleged to be involved in fundraising through extortions and other illicit means, procurement of explosives and weapons to create terror, and other anti-national activities. Notably, while filing the chargesheet, NIA also moved an application for the safety and security of witnesses as protected ones. Acceding to the request by the agency, the court allowed the application and fixed July 1 as the next date of hearing for resuming discussion on the framing of charges. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 이 게임은 쉽고 무료로 플레이할 수 있지만 잊기 어렵습니다 레이드 섀도우 레전드 Undo The investigating agency, while going through the details, indicted the gangsters Goldy Brar and Ranbir. The court also extended the judicial remand of Sachin Taliya and Ankit Kumar, who are currently lodged in jail. It may be recalled that the incident dates to Dec 24 last year when Gurugram saw two blasts by crude bombs outside the nightclubs - The Warehouse Club and The Human Club. Though no major injury was reported, the incident created terror in the area. Initially, the investigations were carried out by Gurugram Police, but later investigations were taken over by NIA. A total of three persons, namely Sahil Taliyan, Ankit, and Bhawish, were arrested, and in due course, the names of Goldy Brar and Randeep Malik cropped up, who are operating from Canada and the US, respectively.
NDTV
5 hours ago
- NDTV
Ceasefire-Linked Kuki Insurgent Among 3 Arrested By NIA For Allegedly Killing 2 Manipur Commandos
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. The NIA arrested three insurgents, including a Kuki National Army (KNA) member, for a January 2024 attack in Manipur's Moreh that killed two commandos. This highlights violation of the SoO agreement amidst the ethnic violence in the border state Manipur. Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi: Three insurgents have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly attacking a police post and killing two commandos in Manipur's border town Moreh in January 2024. The arrested insurgents include a member of the Kuki National Army (KNA), a signatory to the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement under which insurgents are to stay at designated camps with weapons kept in locked storage, jointly monitored. This is the second time an authority confirmed on record the violation of SoO ground rules by Kuki insurgents in Manipur in the last two years since Meitei-Kuki ethnic clashes began in May 2023. The KNA insurgent Kamginthang Gangte and a Churachandpur district village volunteer Hentinthang Kipgen alias Thangneo Kipgen were arrested from the state capital Imphal on June 6, the NIA said in a statement on Sunday. "The duo was part of the team that had executed the deadly attack [in Moreh]. NIA is continuing with its investigations and search for the other perpetrators of the attack in the case," the anti-terror agency said. The NIA said the main accused, Thangminlen Mate, is a resident of Tengnoupal district and a "member of the Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal (KIT) insurgent group". "The three men, along with their associates, had planned, conspired and executed the attack on an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) post and security forces in Moreh, Tengnoupal district, on 17th January 2024," the NIA said. The "Kuki Inpi Tengnoupal insurgent group" member played a key role in orchestrating and carrying out the attack in Moreh, the NIA said, adding he was arrested on May 19 in Assam's Silchar. 3 Insurgents Arrested by NIA in Attack on Manipur Security Forces Case — NIA India (@NIA_India) June 8, 2025 SoO Agreement Ground Rules Violation The first official confirmation of the SoO agreement's ground rules violation came from the Manipur Police in September 2024 when three Kuki Liberation Army (KLA) insurgents - all of them residents of Churachandpur district - were killed in a gunfight in Jiribam. They were Seiminlen Khongsai, Haogoulen Doungel (31), and Nehboithang Haokip (26). The Manipur Police in September 2024 also for the first time confirmed the involvement of Meitei insurgent group UNLF (P), which had signed a ceasefire with the Centre and the state, after a UNLF (P) insurgent identified as Baspatimayum Lakhi Kumar Sharma (41) was killed in the Jiribam gunfight. The NIA's June 8, 2025 statement and the Manipur Police's September 8, 2024 statement show that insurgent groups in Manipur that have signed the SoO agreement or ceasefire with the Centre and the state have been involved in the Manipur violence. While the authorities have confirmed only two cases of SoO agreement and ceasefire violations in the last two years, both Meitei and Kuki civil society groups accuse each other of hiding the involvement of insurgents belonging to their respective communities in dozens of cases. Over 260 have been killed and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced in the Manipur ethnic violence.
