Activists Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Sudha Bhardwaj.

The Pune Police on Friday evening took custody of activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves from Thane and Mumbai respectively after the Bombay High Court on Friday refused to grant extension of their house arrest. They had been arrested by the Pune City police on August 28 in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case, for their alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist. The house arrest for four weeks granted by the Supreme Court ended on Friday.

Ferreira and Gonsalves sought extension of house arrest after their bail pleas were rejected by a Pune sessions court. A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Bharati H Dangre refused to grant relief and posted the matter for November 1. Ferreira and Gonsalves were arrested along with other activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, P Vara Vara Rao and Gautam Navlakha. All five had been put under house arrest for four weeks on the directions of the Supreme Court.

The FIR in the case, lodged by Pune resident Tushar Damgude on January 8, initially named Harshali Potdar, Sudhir Dhawale of the Republican Panthers, and Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap, Deepak Dhengle of the Pune-based Kabir Kala Manch. It claimed that the accused, as per the strategy of the CPI-Maoist, “misled Dalits and spread thoughts of violence” in their minds.

Earlier on June 6, police had arrested activist Rona Wilson, Nagpur-based lawyer Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, former Prime Minister Rural Development fellow Mahesh Raut and activist Sudhir Dhawale in connection with the case.

All were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).