Varavara Rao arrested in plot to assassinate PM Narendra Modi

IANS photo

Hyderabad: The Maharashtra Police on Tuesday arrested Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao here for his alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his family members said.

A police team from Pune arrested the revolutionary writer after searching his house and the houses of his family members and friends including a journalist.

Varvara Rao was shifted to the government-run Gandhi Hospital for a medical check-up. He is likely to be produced before a court here before shifting him to Pune.

In June, police in Pune had allegedly recovered a letter mentioning a plan to assassinate Modi from the house of one of the five persons arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence.

The letter written by a person identified only as 'R' reportedly mentions a plot to kill the Prime Minister on the lines of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. 

It also referred to requirement of Rs 8 crore to purchase a M-4 rifle and four lakh rounds to execute the plot. The letter reportedly mentions Varvara Rao`s name.

Varvara Rao, who heads `Veerasam`, an association of revolutionary writers, had strongly denied the allegations. He had said that all five arrested in the case were working for the betterment of downtrodden.