Hinting at a threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a letter allegedly retrieved from the house of activist Rona Wilson, arrested for having Maoist links, talks of “another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident,” the Pune police submitted before the sessions court here.
The police on Wednesday arrested Dalit activist-publisher Sudhir Dhawale from Mumbai, human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling, tribal activist Mahesh Raut, Nagpur University English Professor Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson in New Delhi. They were arrested for their alleged links with top Naxals, their role in organising the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ and the Bhima-Koregaon violence in January.
In their submission on Thursday, the police claimed to have seized a letter from Mr. Wilson’s New Delhi house in which the Maoists, among other things, talk about “the requirement of Rs. 8 crore for an annual supply of M-4 carbines and four lakh rounds [of ammunition].” The letter also allegedly speaks about organising another Rajiv Gandhi-type “incident” by “targeting his [Mr. Modi’s] road shows,” special public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar told the court.
“We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi incident. It sounds suicidal and there is a chance that we might fail but we feel that the party PB/CC [Polit Bureau/Central Committee] must deliberate on our proposal,” the letter, quoted by Ms. Pawar, said.
While seeking the remand of the accused, Ms. Pawar quoted from another letter, allegedly seized from Mr. Wilson’s residence, to show that funds for the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ and other activities were “provided by the Maoists to a member, Sudhir, for the Koregaon-Bhima task, while other members, Shoma and Surendra, were authorised to fund future programmes.”