This Article is From Aug 29, 2018

3 Activists Arrested After Raids Brought To Pune

Prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao, and activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira are likely to be produced in a court later in the day.

3 Activists Arrested After Raids Brought To Pune

Activist Arun Ferreira is among those arrested.

Pune:

Three of the five activists, who were arrested on Tuesday by Maharashtra Police over allegations of links to Maoists were brought to Pune late last night.

A senior Pune police officer said that prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao, and activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira are likely to be produced in a court later in the day.

Near simultaneous searches were carried out on Tuesday at the residences of Mr Rao in Hyderabad, Mr Gonzalves and Mr Farreira in Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in New Delhi, a senior police official had said.

Mr Rao, Ms Bhardwaj, Mr Farreira, Mr Gonzalves and Mr Navalakha were arrested under IPC Section 153 (A), which relates to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place or birth, residence, language and committing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, said the official.

Some other sections of the IPC were also pressed against those arrested, along with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their "alleged Naxal activities," said the police official, without elaborating.

Five people allegedly having close Maoist links were arrested in June from Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi in connection with Elgar Parishad event held on December 31 last year which had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village in Pune district.

Provocative speeches were made at the Elgar Parishad event which triggered the violence at Koregaon-Bhima, according to an FIR registered at the Vishrambaug police station after the event.

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