[It's, on the face of it, to present a new, or rather freshly packaged, phantom to the country - the Maoists. And, of course, Modi, the saviour - the "target" of a mystery "plot", hatched by them. That's now added to Gau Raksha and all that to the simmering witches' brew, waiting to boil.
Whoever opts to talk of democratic right to dissent and basic human rights is, by definition, a "traitor". The charge of "plot" is, however, so very outlandish that the link to the Bhima-Koregaon violence is just not abandoned. For a scan of the original "plot": 'The “Letter” that Discloses a Plot to Assassinate: Disturbing Implications' at < https://sabrangindia.in/content-authors/sukla-sen>. <<The raids are connected to investigations into a public meeting organised days before caste-related violence erupted at Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1. Scroll.in has reviewed the search warrants which cite sections of the anti-terrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to the offence of promoting enmity between groups.>> (Excerpted from sl. no. I. below.) <<Varavara Rao, activist and poet, was arrested in Hyderabad for his alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Rao's name had cropped up in a letter seized by the police during searches on others arrested after the Elgar Parishad event on December 31 to commemorate 200 years of the Koregaon Bhima battle in 1818.>> (Excerpted from sl. no. II. below.) <<Police from various states are raiding the homes of noted human rights lawyers, lawyers and public intellectuals as part of an investigation into the massive Dalit protest in Bhima-Koregaon, Maharashtra, in January this year. The searches are also stated to be part of the investigations in connection with the Maoist plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis unearthed recently in Pune.>> (Excerpted from sl. no. III. below.) <<Synchronised raids were conducted today at eight locations across five states in connection with an alleged plot by the Maoist extremists to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The raids were conducted by police teams in Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana, Delhi and Jharkhand.>> (Excerpted from sl. no. IV. below.)] I/IV. https://scroll.in/latest/892159/police-raids-reported-on-homes-of-human-rights-activists-in-mumbai-ranchi-and-hyderabad Delhi, Mumbai, Faridabad, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Goa: Pune police raids, arrests human rights activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao were arrested. 8 hours ago Updated 25 minutes ago. Scroll Staff Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao On Tuesday morning, teams of Pune police raided the houses of activists in Mumbai, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Delhi, Faridabad and Goa. By evening, joint commissioner of police, Shivaji Bodakhe, confirmed the arrests of five activists: Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, Gautam Navlakha in New Delhi, Sudha Bharadwaj in Faridabad, Varavara Rao in Hyderabad. Others whose houses were searched include priest and activist Stan Swamy in Ranchi, Rao’s daughters in Hyderabad, activists Kranti Teluka in Hyderabad, Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde in Goa. Teltumbde’s house was raided in his absence. Police reportedly took the keys from the security guard and walked in. Bharadwaj, who has worked as a human rights lawyer in Chhattisgarh for many decades, was the first to be detained at the Surajkund police station in Faridabad. She was subsequently arrested. Navlakha filed a petition in Delhi High Court, challenging the order of a local court granting Maharashtra police transit remand to take him to Pune. The High Court stayed the order and will hear his petition on Wednesday. The raids are connected to investigations into a public meeting organised days before caste-related violence erupted at Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1. Scroll.in has reviewed the search warrants which cite sections of the anti-terrorism law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to the offence of promoting enmity between groups. Mumbai Arun Ferreira, a human rights activist and lawyer, confirmed that raids were being conducted on his house by members of the Vishrambaug police station from Pune. The raid at Vernon Gonsalves’s house began at around 6 am, a relative confirmed. Ferreira, who in 2012 was acquitted of charges of being a Naxalite, told Scroll.in that he has been involved in the case against Surendra Gadling, a Nagpur-based lawyer who was among the five social activists arrested in June on charges of stirring up violence in Bhima Koregaon. The Pune police has been investigating the circumstances that led to violence at Bhima Koregaon, where large groups burnt and stoned vehicles and property. One person died during the clashes. An initial outcry focused attention on the role of Hindutva groups in instigating the violence. But in March, the state government said that there was no evidence against Shiv Prathishtan Hindustan leader Sambhaji Bhide who reportedly gave an inflammatory speech near the village of Bhima Koregaon days before the New Year violence. Since June, the police investigation pivoted to focus on activists working with Dalits, Adivasis and political prisoners instead. The police have been claiming that speeches made at the public meeting in Pune, called the Elgaar Parishad, actually sparked the violence. The investigators have been targetting activists they allege helped organise the meeting. Ranchi The search warrant issued for Stan Swamy’s house by Assistant Police Inspector Shivaji Pawar of Pune city’s Swargate division says that they had received confidential information about Swamy and so wanted to seize his laptop, hard drives, mobiles, notebooks and other technical equipment to prevent him from destroying information. “The Maharashtra and local police came at around 6 am and knocked on [Swamy’s] room [in Ranchi] and said they have to conduct a search operation,” said Siraj Dutta, an activist from Jharkhand who witnessed the raid. According to Dutta, the police confiscated Swamy’s mobile, laptop, some audio cassettes, some CDs, and a press release on the Pathalgadi [movement] released a few weeks ago. With its epicentre in the state’s Khunti district, the Pathalgadi movement uses an Adivasi practice of installing stone tablets – traditionally used to mark graves – in order to list out provisions from the Indian Constitution that award vast powers to gram sabhas, village councils in Adivasi-dominated Fifth Schedule areas. The movement has been driven from the constant infringement of Adivasi lands rights for mining and industry. The raid on Stan Swamy's premises in Ranchi. The raid on Stan Swamy's premises in Ranchi. “They wanted him to sign on a panchayat nama in Marathi, but Stan and all of us there refused,” Dutta added. “Stan requested a translation, which they did not give, but they gave an undertaking, explaining the whole statement to him in English and Hindi. The whole thing was video recorded. They made him sign on the panchayat nama, which basically explained the seizure list and that they had done this raid. Then they went away.” Xavier Dias, a friend of Swamy’s who is also an adivasi rights activist in Ranchi, said that Swamy has not left the state in two years. When he travels outside the state, it is only to Chennai for health checkups. Swamy is a cancer survivor. On August 11, Swamy had organised a Loktantra Bachao Andolan in Ranchi, which 150 people had attended, Dias said. Hyderabad Apart from the houses of writer and activist Varavara Rao and his family, the police have reportedly raided the homes of Kranti and Naseem, who are associated with the publication Virasam. The houses of two of Rao’s daughters and sons-in-law have been searched. This includes Professor K Satyanarayana, a Dalit activist who teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, and is married to Rao’s daughter Pavana. “There is a raid still going on at Prof Satyanarayana’s house on the campus,” said his colleague. “Teams from the Pune police and Telangana police are still inside, and they are not letting anyone in. Some of his colleagues and staff are waiting outside.” The police have also searched the house of Rao’s daughter Anala and her husband Kurmanath, who is a journalist. Previous arrests On June 6, teams from the Pune police arrested advocate Surendra Gadling, professor Shoma Sen and activist Mahesh Raut from their homes in Nagpur. In a coordinated operation, the police also arrested activists Sudhir Dhawale in Mumbai and Rona Wilson in Delhi, and brought all five of them to Pune. They have been accused of having Maoist links and have been charged under sections of the controversial Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. II/IV. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/activists-arrested-in-raids-in-many-cities-in-connection-with-caste-violence-in-maharashtras-bhima-k-1907380 Activists Arrested In Multi-City Raids For "Maoist Plot": 10 Points READ IN Varavara Rao was arrested for his alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his family said All India | Edited by Nidhi Sethi | Updated: August 28, 2018 18:11 IST Raids were conducted across six cities in connection with Koregaon Bhima violence. NEW DELHI: Nine rights activists were searched and five of them arrested today over allegations of Maoist links after sweeping multi-city raids that have been described by many as "absolutely chilling" and a "virtual declaration of emergency". The raids and arrests were by the Pune police, in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence in January, in which Dalit activists had clashed with upper-caste Marathas. Those arrested include Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, and activists Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Venon Gonsalves. The raids were carried out in Delhi, Faridabad, Goa, Mumbai, Ranchi and Hyderabad. Here are 10 points on this developing story: 1. Varavara Rao, activist and poet, was arrested in Hyderabad for his alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Rao's name had cropped up in a letter seized by the police during searches on others arrested after the Elgar Parishad event on December 31 to commemorate 200 years of the Koregaon Bhima battle in 1818. 2. Human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj was picked up from Faridabad and activists Arun Fereira and Venon Gonsalves were arrested from Thane and Mumbai. Gautam Navlakha's transit remand to Pune is on hold, the Delhi High Court said. He will stay at home under police guard and can meet only his lawyers. 3. Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi and Kranti from Telangana were also raided. Anand Teltumbde's Goa home also featured on the list, but the activist wasn't at home. Laptops, pen drives and documents have been seized for analysis. 4. Author-activist Arundhati Roy has condemned the raids on the "homes of lawyers, poets, writers, Dalit rights activists and intellectuals" and said, "They should raid those who make up lynch mobs and murder people in broad daylight. It tells us very clearly where India is headed. Murderers will be honoured and celebrated. Anybody who speaks up for justice or against Hindu majoritarianism is being made into a criminal. What is happening is absolutely perilous." 5. JNU student leader Shehla Rashid alleged the raids were an attempt to "instil fear among those are vocal about issues". Her fellow activist Umar Khalid said, "Ahead of 2019 elections, a sense of fictitious enemy is being conjured," he said. 6. The five people -- Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen -- arrested in June had allegedly made "provocative" speeches at the event, triggering violence at Koregaon Bhima village. The homes of activists were raided today based on interrogation of these five. 7. Members of the Dalit community from all over Maharashtra had gathered in Koregaon Bhima, near Pune, to celebrate what they call their victory over Maratha Peshwas. This year was the 200th anniversary of "Vijay Diwas" that attracted a three lakh-strong crowd. 8. Dalit thinkers and activists consider it as a victory of the oppressed over the upper-caste establishment of the Marathas. Dalit leader and Gujarat lawmaker Jignesh Mewani had attended the event. 9. However, 'Right wing' groups had reportedly opposed the Dalit celebrations saying they cannot observe a 'British' victory. Clashes between 'right-wing' groups and Dalits who had congregated there turned violent. 10. The violence spread to Mumbai and other cities in the next three days. One person died and several were injured in the violence. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had ordered a probe and warned that there is no place for casteist violence in Maharashtra which is a progressive state. III/IV. https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/police-raid-homes-of-rights-lawyers-activists-during-probe-of-pm-modi-s-alleged-murder-plot-351999.html Police Raid Homes Of Rights Lawyers, Activists During Probe Of PM Modi’s Alleged Murder Plot Shweta Sengar Updated: August 28, 2018 Police from various states are raiding the homes of noted human rights lawyers, lawyers and public intellectuals as part of an investigation into the massive Dalit protest in Bhima-Koregaon, Maharashtra, in January this year. The searches are also stated to be part of the investigations in connection with the Maoist plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis unearthed recently in Pune. Several raids were launched simultaneously in Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Goa and Hyderabad. From 6 am onwards, Maharashtra police raided and searched father Stan Swamy’s residence in Ranchi. During the search operations, they have confiscated the numerous items like computers, laptops, CDs, papers and books. He was also quizzed over some organisations in Maharashtra. Pune police raided Arun Ferreira, Susan Abraham and Vernon Gonsalvez’s residence in Mumbai. Police Raid Homes Of Lawyers, Activists Allegedly As Part Of Investigating PM Modi’s Murder Plot LEFT: VARA VARA RAO, RIGHT: ANAND TELTUMBDE Civil Rights activist Anand Teltumbde’s house in Goa was also raided. Human rights advocate Sudha Bharadwaj’s home was raided and she was taken into custody this morning. APCLC leader and writer Varavara Rao, his daughter Anala’s house were raided in Hyderabad. Based on the information, the special police from Pune and Chhattisgarh with the assistance of Task Force Police of Telangana armed with search warrants launched the search operations at the residence of Varavara Rao in an apartment in Gandhinagar. IV. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/police-raid-maoist-plot-narendra-modi-1325153-2018-08-28 Raids in 5 states in connection with Maoist plot to assassinate PM Modi Ashish Pandey Hyderabad | Mumbai August 28, 2018 UPDATED: August 28, 2018 16:13 IST HIGHLIGHTS Police raids conducted at 8 places in 5 states Raids were conducted in connection with plot to kill PM Modi and Bhima-Koregaon violence Maharashtra police claimed in June to have unearthed the Maoist plot Raids at 8 locations in 5 states Simultaneous raids were conducted at eight locations across five states in connection with a Maoist plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bhima-Koregaon violence. (File photo: PTI) The ongoing raids were said to have been conducted as a follow up to the ones carried out in June in connection with Bhima-Koregaon protests. Maharashtra Police had previously conducted raids in the aftermath of Bhima-Koregaon violence. The police had claimed to have found evidence -- emails, documents and literature -- to indicate that the left-wing extremists (LWE) were planning to conduct a 'Rajiv Gandhi-type' assassination bid on PM Modi. In the latest series of raids, police searched houses of a well-known revolutionary writer and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao and his daughter in Pune. Rao has been arrested. Houses of a journalist working with a leading business paper and a Telugu language journalist were also raided in Pune. Another house of a professor working with the English and Foreign Language University has been searched. Additional inputs from Kiran Tare in Mumbai: Raids were also conducted in Jharkhand, Delhi and Telangana. Sources said that houses of Arun Ferreira, Susan Abraham and Vernon Gonsalvez in Mumbai, Anand Teltumbde in Goa, Stan Swamy in Jharkhand, and Gautam Navlakha and Sudha Bhardwaj in Delhi were raided. In Hyderabad too, three homes were under search. They were related to VV Rao and Kranti and Kaseem of Virasam, all are suspected to have links with Maoists. "We have so far confiscated laptops, phones and books," a source said. The Maharashtra Police in Pune claimed that the Maoists had plotted and executed the riots which left one person dead during Bhima-Koregaon violence and created a rift between the upper castes and the Dalits. More inputs from Saurabh Vaktania and Divyesh Singh: Poet and activist Varavara Rao's name had surfaced when Pune police arrested Surendra Gadling from Nagour in June in connection with the Elgaar Parishad rally case. A letter was recovered from Gadling in which Rao complimented him on success of attack launched by Naxalites in Surjagad area of Gadchiroli. Around 100 vehicles belonging to a mining company had been set ablaze in the incident. Similarly, letters discussing the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi were recovered from another accused Rona Wilson, who was close to convicted professor GN Saibaba for running a Naxalite module. Stalin Swamy is another accused named in the case. His name cropped up in the emails and letters of the arrested accused in he Elgaar Parishad case. Among the places raided today was Arun Ferreira's house in Thane. Ferreira had recently shifted to a house in Thane. Earlier, he used to stay in Mumbai. India Today TV spoke exclusively to Arun Ferreira, he confirmed raids were going on at his house since 6 am. Ferreira has claimed innocence. His wife, Jenny said, "We are very tensed. Raids are going on at our place. We will talk once they are over." Arun Farreira is allegedly a Naxalite sympathiser. He had been arrested five times for his alleged Naxal links. But he has been discharged in all the cases. Having spent some time in jail, he is known to have fought for the rights of prisoners inside jail. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
