5 activists held over Bhima Koregaon violence, plot to kill PM Modi: Top developments

The raids and subsequent arrests have drawn a sharp reaction from the opposition.

Poet and activist Varavara Rao, who has been detained in connection to the alleged plot to assassinate PM Modi. (Picture: IANS)

In an operation that spanned five states, police on Tuesday raided multiple locations and detained prominent activists as part of the probe into the Bhima Koregaon violence at the turn of the year.

The arrests have elicited strong reactions, with a number of prominent faces accusing the government of targeting dissenters.

Here are 10 things to know about the arrests:

1.     Police carried out raids in Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ranchi and Delhi. The raids centred around members of the Elgar Parishad, and their alleged links to Maoists.
2.     Left-wing activist and poet Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj in Ranchi and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in Delhi were among those who were raided by multiple police teams.
3.     These activists have been detained for allegedly making 'provocative' speeches which police claim sparked the violence at Maharashtra's Koregaon Bhima during a large gathering by Dalit organisations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle Koregaon, between the British and the Maratha Confederacy. Dalit organisations commemorate the defeat of the Maratha Confederacy, fighting as some of them did on the British side.
4.     Varavara Rao was arrest for his role in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior members of the government.
5.     These raids, police said, were carried out on the basis of information provided by activists arrested earlier.
6.     All the arrested activists have been booked under sections 153 A, 505(1) B, 117, 120 B, 13, 16, 18, 20, 38, 39, 40 and UPA, reported news agency ANI.
7.     The arrests and raids have drawn sharp reactions from opposition parties. "There is only place for one NGO in India and it's called the RSS. Shut down all other NGOs. Jail all activists and shoot those that complain. Welcome to the new India. #BhimaKoregaon," tweeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
8.     "These constitute a brazen attack on democratic rights and civil liberties. The CPI-M demands withdrawal of the cases against these activists and their immediate release," said senior CPM leader Prakash Karat.
9.     A statement from the CPM read, "Ever since the Bhima Koregoan violence against Dalits, the Maharashtra Police along with central agencies has been targeting Dalit rights activists and lawyers who have been taking up their cases."
10.    Writer Arundhati Roy too reacted. "The arrests are a dangerous sign of a government that fears it is losing its mandate and is falling into a panic. That lawyers, poets, writers, Dalit rights activists and intellectuals are being arrested on ludicrous charges," she said.