The NIA, which is probing both Elgar Parishad as well as the Gadchiroli blast cases, relied on statements of certain protected witnesses offering “proof and relevance” to make the connection between the two cases. It is, however, unclear what role, if any, was played by Elgar Parishad accused in the blast case.
Last week, the special NIA court allowed the investigation agency to add statements of two former members of CPI (Maoist), referred as KW 2 and KW 3 in order to protect their identities, while hearing the Gadchiroli blast matter.
KW 2 and KW 3’s statements were originally recorded by the NIA in the Elghar Parishad case and are part of the chargesheets already filed before the court.
The NIA plea contended that the certified copies of the statements of the protected witnesses are being used by the prosecution as additional evidence in 2019 Gadchiroli blast case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed that Rona Wilson, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, met with an accused who is wanted in the deaths of 15 police personnel in the Jamburkheda blast in Gadchiroli.
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast had gone off in May 2019, and Bhupti (alias Sona/Abhay) who Wilson reportedly met, is one of the main accused but remains absconding.
