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Pune police raid, detain human rights activists across country, for alleged ‘Maoist links’

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Stan Swamy, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao

In an early morning swoop, Pune police carried out raids on several Dalit and human rights activists in Delhi, Maharashtra, Telangana, Goa, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on charges of suspected Maoist links.

Among those whose houses were searched are Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, Gautam Navlakha in New Delhi, Sudha Bharadwaj in Faridabad and Stan Swamy in Ranchi.

Bharadwaj, who has worked as a human rights lawyer in Chhattisgarh for many decades, was detained at the Surajkund police station in Faridabad.

In Hyderabad, raids were reported from the homes of Varavara Rao and his family members, and two other activists, Kranti Tekula and Naseem.

The activists were detained and reports about some of them said they have been formally arrested. They include Varavara Rao and Kranti Tekula in Hyderabad and Gautam Navlakha in New Delhi. Both would be produced by Pune Police in local courts for transit remand after medical checkup. They were questioned for 4-6 hours after which they were arrested, said reports.

In Mumbai, the homes of Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Susan Abraham were raided. According to sources, the raids were conducted from around 6 a.m. at Ferreira’s Thane residence and the Andheri homes of Gonsalves and Abraham, said media reports.

Vernon Gonsalves is also a human rights lawyer and activist. Gonsalves and Ferreira were earlier accused of Naxalite connections, but were acquitted of related charges in 2012. 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.

Susan Abraham is a civil liberties lawyer and is part of the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR).

In Goa, the police raided professor Anand Teltumbde’s on-campus premises at the Goa Institute of Management (GIM), located in Sanquelim in North Goa, where he is a senior professor.

“He is out of Goa and his house was locked. He was informed by an official at the Institute that police had arrived at the campus with sanction to raid his house,” said media reports quoting an unnamed source at the GIM.

Prof. Teltumbde, who specialises in “strategy, productions and operations, project management, and business analytics” at GIM, is also a Dalit scholar, writer and social commentator.

The local police in some states, said media reports, were not involved in the raids nor were they informed.

The raids are said to be connected to investigations into a public meeting organised days before caste-related violence erupted at Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1. Rights activists said more raids are in progress in other parts of the country.

According to police, the searches are being conducted at the residences of the persons having Maoists links and who were directly or indirectly connected with the organizers of ‘Elgaar Parishad’.

Police claim the speeches made at the Elgaar Parishad, a day ahead of the bicentennial celebration of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, were one of the triggers to the violence that was witnessed in and around Pune the next day.

The police claimed that the names of these people had emerged in the interrogations of five activists and lawyers it had arrested in June in the same case. On June 6, it had arrested Sudhir Dhawale, leader of Mumbai-based Republican Panthers Jati Antachi Chalwal, Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson of Committee of Release of Political Prisoners, Nagpur lawyer Surendra Gadling of Indian Association of People’s Lawyers, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, and Mahesh Raut who had in the past been Prime Minister’s Rural Development Fellow.

While producing them in court the next day, Pune police had claimed that documents and information recovered from some of these alleged “top urban Maoist operatives” revealed plans to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a “Rajiv Gandhi like manner” last year. All the five, charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, are currently in being held in magisterial custody, and lodged in Yervada central prison in Pune.

The Pune police have 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.

In March, however, 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 targeting activists who they allege helped organise the meeting.

The Elgaar Parishad was organised to commemorate the 200thanniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon which happened on January 1 in 1818, in which a British army comprising of a large number of Dalit soldiers is said to have defeated the Peshwas. Every year on January 1, thousands of Dalits assemble in Pune and march to the village of Koregaon Bhima which has a war memorial (Jaystambh) in memory of those who died in that battle.

Police claim investigations had shown that banned Maoist groups were involved in financing and organising the Elgaar Parishad event.

India News

Security forces arrest 14 Pakistani nationals with around 86 kg of drugs, worth Rs 600 crore near Gujarat Coast

The Indian Coast Guard took to X and wrote in a breathtaking overnight operation, Indian Coast Guard undertook an intelligence-based anti-narcotics operation at sea on 28 Apr 24. About 86 kg of narcotics which is worth Rs 600 crore has been apprehended along with the arrest of 14 Pakistani nationals.

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The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday announced the interception of a Pakistani vessel laden with 86 kg of narcotics valued at Rs 600 crore. Acting on intelligence, a joint operation involving the Indian Coast Guard, the Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS), and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) was launched to combat drug trafficking in the area.

The operation was carried out by the agencies based on intelligence inputs received in the last few days. The Indian Coast Guard took to X and wrote in a breathtaking overnight operation, Indian Coast Guard undertook an intelligence-based anti-narcotics operation at sea on 28 Apr 24.

About 86 kg of narcotics which is worth Rs 600 crore has been apprehended along with the arrest of 14 Pakistani nationals. The operation was an epitome of inter-agency coordination wherein the Indian Coast Guard Anti-terrorism Squad and Narcotics Control Bureau  collaborated seamlessly which resulted in the successful operation.

The ships and aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard had been deployed on concurrent missions to carry out the operation. ICG ship Rajratan, which had Narcitics Control Bureau and Anti Terrorist Squad officials embarked, positively identified the suspect boat.

No amount of evasive maneuvering tactics and resistance employed by the drug laden Pakistani boat could save it from the swift and strong action of ICG ship Rajratan. This operation took place on the basis of a tip-off by the Indian Coast Guard, Narcotics Control Bureau and Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad in the Arabian Sea near the International Maritime Boundary Line.

The operation was the 2nd major anti-narcotics operation carried out by the security forces in the Arabian Sea in 1 month. Earlier on February 26, 5 foreign nationals were held off the Porbandar coast with 3,300 kg of narcotics, including charas. Recently a boat carrying 60 packets of drugs was seized and 6 Pakistani crew members onboard the vessel were arrested off the Gujarat coast in a multi-agency operation in March.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Election Commission orders AAP to modify Lok Sabha campaign song

AAP minister Atishi attacked the ECI for putting a ban on the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign song. She said this has happened for the first time in the history of India that the Election Commission has put a ban on the election song of a political party.

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The Election Commission of India asked the Aam Aadmi Party to modify its election campaign song on Sunday. The Election Commission pointed out that the phrase jail ke jawaab me hum vote denge shows an aggressive mob holding the photo of Arvind Kejriwal showing him behind bars, casts a bad impression of the judiciary. The ECI added that the phrase appears several times in the advertisement which contravenes the provisions of ECI Guidelines and Rule 6(1\(g) of Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994.

AAP minister Atishi attacked the ECI for putting a ban on the party’s Lok Sabha election campaign song. She said this has happened for the first time in the history of India that the Election Commission has put a ban on the election song of a political party.

The Election Commission listed some of the phrases that it found in violation of codes. The phrase: Tanashahi party ko hum chot denge with the video clip showing the protesters clash with the police (running from 00:21 to 00:23) incites violence. The phrase: gunda gardi ke khilaf vote denge and Tanashahi karne wali party ko hum chot denge running from duration 00:27 to 00:32 Sec with the video clip showing Manish Sisodia being escorted by the police. The words and the video clip shows the police in bad light.

The Election Commision said the phrase: Awazein khilaf thi jo sabko jail me daal dia, bas unko hi bahar rakha jisne inko maal dia. Itna lalach, itna nafrat, bhrastachari se mohabbat shows slanderous remarks and is a criticism of BJP on the basis of unverified facts and also casts bad impression of the judiciary. The Election Commission stated that the phrase Tanashahi party ko hum chot denge with the video clip showing aggressive mob clashing with the police shows criticism of the ruling party based on unverified facts.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

PM Modi criticises Rahul Gandhi for allegedly insulting Hindu kings, accuses Congress of not addressing atrocities by Muslim rulers

The prime minister was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi where he said, the statements made by the Shehzada of Congress have been made very thoughtfully to appease their vote bank. But the Shehzada does not utter a word about the atrocities committed by the Nizams, Nawabs, Badshahs and Sultans.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly insulting Hindu kings but not saying a word on atrocities committed by Muslim rulers like Aurangzeb. The prime minister was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Belagavi where he said, the statements made by the Shehzada of Congress have been made very thoughtfully to appease their vote bank. But the Shehzada does not utter a word about the atrocities committed by the Nizams, Nawabs, Badshahs and Sultans.

Congress does not remember the atrocities committed by Aurangzeb who destroyed thousands of Hindu temples.  He said Congress forms political alliances with parties who praise Aurangzeb. PM Modi said the Congress do not talk about all those who destroyed Hindu pilgrimage sites, looted them, killed Hindu people, and killed cows.

The Prime Minister was referring to a video clip of Rahul Gandhi which was shared by many BJP leaders. In the video clip, the Gandhi is heard saying, during the rule of Rajas and Maharajas, they could do whatever they wanted and even grab someone’s land. The Congress fought for India’s independence and brought democracy in the country.

PM Modi also mentioned the death of a Karnataka Congress corporator’s daughter, who was killed by her former colleague in her college.  He said the Congress government gives priority to appeasement and for them, the lives of daughters like Neha have no value. The prime minister further added that the Congress is only concerned about its vote bank.

Neha Hiremath, daughter of Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath, was murdered on the campus of BVB College on April 18 by her ex-classmate Fayaz. PM Modi accused Congress for supporting anti national parties like PFI (Popular Front of India) for votes which is an anti-national organisation that gives shelter to terrorism and which has been banned by the Modi government.

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