Activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, was on Saturday released from the Taloja central prison in Navi Mumbai.

On Friday, the Supreme Court had rejected the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea challenging his bail.

Teltumbde, 73, who spent two-and-a-half years behind bars, walked out of the jail around 1.15pm.

“I am happy after being released from prison after 31 months. It is obvious, but the sad thing is that this is the fakest case and it put us behind bars for years,” Teltumbde told reporters.

Granting him bail on November 18, Bombay High Court had observed that prima facie there was no evidence showing Teltumbde’s involvement in any terrorist acts.

He was arrested by the NIA on April 14, 2020.

Teltumbde is the third of the 16 accused arrested in the case to be released on bail. Poet Varavara Rao is currently out on bail on health grounds while lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj is out on regular bail.

The case relates to the alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city. Pune police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by some persons with alleged Maoist links.

Teltumbde had claimed he was not present at the event.