[8] His arrest was condemned by other academics and human rights organizations, and legal experts have said that the charges against him appear to be fabricated.

Teltumbde was born on 15 July 1951 in Rajur, a village in the Yavatmal district of present-day Maharashtra state, to a family of Dalit farm labourers.

[22] Teltumbde advocates for a closer relationship between Marxism and the Ambedkarite movements in fighting for Dalit liberation, as well as reform of the reservation system.

[23][24][25] On 29 August 2018, the police raided Teltumbde's home, accusing him of having a connection to the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and an alleged Maoist plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

[29] The Washington Post reported that Teltumbde was arrested as part of "a government crackdown on lawyers and activists" who are critics of Modi.

[31][32] In addition, over 150 organizations and intellectuals—including Noam Chomsky and Cornel West—signed a letter to United Nations secretary general António Guterres, describing the charges as "fabricated" and calling for the UN to intervene.

[27] Teltumbde's mobile phone was hacked by Israeli spyware Pegasus through WhatsApp along with over a dozen other activists, lawyers, and journalists in India.