A sessions court in Pune city of Maharashtra has termed the arrest of Dalit intellectual Anand Teltumbde by Pune city police as illegal and ordered the police to immediately release him.
Teltumbde, a renowned academic and a professor in Goa Institute of Management, was arrested by Pune police early morning on Saturday from Mumbai airport.
The arrest had taken place despite the Supreme Court granting four weeks protection from arrest to Teltumbde which ends on February 11.
Teltumbde was produced before the sessions court of additional sessions judge K.D.Vadane in Pune who had rejected his anticipatory bail application on Friday.
The police have accused Teltumbde of being a member of outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and associated with Dalit platform Elgar Parishad which the police claimed had Maoist funding and caused violence in Bhima Koregoan area of Maharashtra last year.
Judge Vadane termed the arrest of Teltumbde as “illegal” and has asked the police to release Teltumbde immediately.
“We had filed a contempt application today morning saying that his arrest is illegal as he was protected from arrest till February 11. We also moved an application to release him forthwith which the judge allowed. They are going to release him now,” informed advocate Parth Shah, an associate of advocate Rohan Nahar who is representing Teltumbde in Pune court.
Teltumbde was still to be released at the time of writing this report and his release orders were being drafted.