HYDERABAD:
The Maharashtra Police on Tuesday arrested Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao in Hyderabad 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 PM 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.
Prasanta Patnaik