NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister
Devendra Fadnavis on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the house arrest of five rights activists in Bhima Koregaon case.
Hailing the SC order as a great "victory " for Pune police and the country, the Maharashtra CM said the apex court accepted that there is no political influence, according to news agency ANI.
"We welcome the decision. On the basis of investigation conducted and evidence collected by the Pune police, it has been considered valid and the SC has said it'll not interfere in the investigation," Fadnavis said.
He added, "SC accepted that there is no political influence and it’s not a plot to suppress voice of the opposition. It is a great victory for Pune police and country. They've (activists) been doing this for many years but there was no evidence against them, so probe couldn't be completed."
The Maharashtra CM said the activists were attempting to "trigger a civil war" in the country. He said the SC also appreciated that the government is not trying to curb dissenting voices.
"They were attempting to trigger a civil war in the country. They were trying to shield the Naxals and kill PM
Narendra Modi. Now, everything is being revealed," Fadnavis said.
Earlier, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with the arrest of five rights activists by the Maharashtra police in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and declined to appoint a SIT to probe their arrest.
A three-judge bench headed by CJI
Dipak Misra, in a 2:1 verdict, refused the plea seeking the immediate release of the activists.
The bench also extended by four weeks the house arrest of the activists. The five activists --
Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves,
Sudha Bharadwaj and
Gautam Navlakha -- are under arrest at their homes since August 29.
(With agency inputs)
