A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday granted 14 days bail to activist Rona Wilson to finish his father’s last rites. Mr Wilson, accused withinside the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case, was arrested on March 6, 2018, and is presently lodged at Taloja Central Jail. He will be released on a personal bond of ₹50,000 with one or sureties.
Special Judge D.E. Kothalikar directed Mr Wilson to be released from September 13 to September 27 to visit his home in Kerala and attend a mass for his father scheduled on September 16.
Mr Wilson’s father passed away on August 18 and he moved to the special court searching for permission on September 1 to go home. His plea, filed thru endorse R. Satyanarayan, sought intervening time bail of weeks on humanitarian grounds as assembly his family might carry him some solace.
The court granted bail on condition that Mr Wilson would submit details of travel to the NIA Superintendent with the address of stay at Kerala; he would submit details of at least three blood relations with proof of residential and work addresses; he would surrender his passport before the court; he would mark his presence on September 14 and September 24, and he would surrender on September 27 at 6 p.m.
The NIA opposed the plea and said, “Neither is his [Mr. Wilson’s] presence necessary nor has he proved that the ceremonial mass at the church could not happen in his absence. He is simply creating a ground to be released.”