Bhima-Koregaon raids: Analysis of items recovered underway, says police

Police detain activists during a protest against the arrest of revolutionary writer Varavara Rao and other activists in connection with Bhima-Koregaon violence, in Hyderabad on Wednesday, Aug 29, 2018. (PTI Photo)

PUNE: Law enforcement agencies are currently scrutinising the items seized during the multiple raids across the country. 

“We are doing an analysis of items recovered during the searches. The Supreme Court has asked us to file a detailed affidavit and we will do so. We will take the investigation to a logical end,” said Dr K Venkatesham, Pune Police Commissioner. 

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Police arrested five left-wing activitists, after raiding their homes in several states for suspected Maoist links over the Elgar Parishad meeting which was held a day before the January 1 Bhima-Koregaon violence. Among those arrested include Telugu poet Varavara Rao from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Farreira from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha from New Delhi.

A Pune court on Wednesday directed the police to send three activists – Rao, Gonsalves and  Ferreira – back to their homes, after the Supreme Court ordered that they be kept under house arrest till September 6.

The SC ordered that the five activists, arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, be kept under house arrest, observing that dissent was the "safety valve" of democracy.

Later, in a significant development, intelligence agencies have identified the underground network of Naxalites and their masterminds operating in various cities of the country.

According to a Zee Media Exclusive report, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) has submitted a detailed report to the government on the country-wide underground network of banned CPI-M Naxals.

IB, in its report to the Home Ministry, said that five alleged masterminds of this underground network of Naxals have been identified after monitoring their activities for a long time.