A Tumakuru court remanded Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao in two-day police custody on Thursday.
He was produced before the Pavagada JMFC Court in connection with the 2005 naxal attack case in the taluk, in which he was chargesheeted but shown absconding for nearly a decade-and-a-half. Following a recent development in the case in the High Court of Karnataka, the Tumakuru district police arrested Mr. Rao from Yerawada Central Jail in Pune on Wednesday and produced him on Thursday. He was lodged in Yerawada jail since September 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon case.
While the prosecution sought his custody for five days, Additional Civil Judge and JMFC Bharath Yogeesh Karagudari granted them two days.
Mr. Rao told the judge that he was suffering from age-related illnesses, including gastric ulcer, and complained that he was very tired after the 15-hour long journey from Yerawada jail to Pavagada. “My body is not cooperating,” he said.
Mr. Rao also took objection to being arrested in the 2005 naxal attack case. “I am in no way related to the case. I was in Chanchalguda jail in Hyderabad when the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) battalion was attacked,” he said.
Mr. Rao and Telugu balladeer Gaddar have been chargesheeted in the case, where the naxals allegedly attacked a KSRP camp in Venkatamanahalli killing seven, including six KSRP personnel, on February 10, 2005, days after prominent naxalite leader Saketh Rajan was killed in a police encounter.
Nineteen accused in the case, who stood trial, were acquitted by a sessions court in 2011, against which the State has gone on appeal in the High Court. The Karnataka police are making efforts to arrest Mr. Gaddar as well.
Mr. Rao’s arrival to Pavagada was an event in itself, as the court premises was turned into a fortress with several hundred policemen posted for security.
Large crowds had gathered to see Mr. Rao, who was brought in a police van. Public and activists from Pavagada and even neighbouring Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh had come to catch a glimpse of Mr. Rao. “He has fought for Dalits and labourers. So, I came to see him,” said Dalit leader C.K. Thippeswamy.