House Arrest For 5 Activists Till September 6, Says Top Court | Read

The Maharashtra government must file a response to the petition challenging the arrest of five activists by the Pune police on terror charges, the Supreme Court said today. For now, they will be kept under house arrest till September 6, said a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The police contend the activists -- Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves -- are linked to Maoists and were planning to recruit members from 35 colleges and launch attacks. The petitioners, including historian Romila Thapar, want the arrests to be put on hold and an independent probe into the matter.