Varavara Rao arrested in plot to assassinate Prime Minister

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.

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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.

Varavara 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.