Responding to the letter produced by the Maharashtra Police on Friday, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj alleged that one of the letters mentioned is fabricated. The police in their claims have said that they have ample evidence to prove the activists’ connection with the Maoists and can show that these activists were planning to end ‘Modi-raj’.
Bhardwaj in her response said in a hand-written statement shared through her lawyer Vrinda Grover, “It is a totally concocted letter fabricated to criminalize me and other human rights lawyers, activists and organisations.”
Lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, one of the five prominent activists arrested this week after multi-city raids, has responded to the Maharashtra Police’s claims that there is solid evidence including “thousands of documents and letters” that established the activists’ links to Maoists and their role in facilitating weapons and funding.
The arrested activist said in her 10-point rebuttal stated, reports NDTV, “It is a mixture of innocuous and publicly available facts and baseless fabrication various legal and democratic activities such as meetings, seminars, protests have been sought to be delegitimized by alleging that they are funded by Maoists.”
Earlier in a press conference on Friday, Additional Director General (Law and Order) of Maharashtra Police, P B Singh said that the Maharashtra Police has ample amount of documental proof — which runs in thousand pages. He also stated that they also have the information about how money and equipment related to the planning of “some big action” was about to reach the activists via Maoists. Singh read some documental evidence too while addressing the media.
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Singh had stated, “We have thousands of letters which show how these people were involved in the underground movement, how students from Jawaharlal Nehru University were being mobilised to overthrow the elected government. All these letters just make the Maoists links clearer.”
Stating about the letter exchanged between the activists and the Maoists — planning the end of Modi-raj as it was done during Rajiv Gandhi’s time — he spoke about the requirements of funding and equipments for the same. Showing the rocket launcher pamphlet, found in one of the seized disks, Singh said, “A letter written from Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson to Maoist leader Prakash on July 30, 2017, spoke of requirement of Rs. 8 crore for grenade launchers with four lakh round.”
Soon after the arrests of five activists — Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, activists Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves — the Supreme Court observed the matter on Wednesday and ordered house arrest till September 6. The bench also ordered Maharashtra Police to present the evidence till September 5.
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