Maharashtra Police file affidavit in SC, say arrested activists were planning to create 'chaos' in society

Maharashtra Police has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying the five arrested activists were planning to create "chaos" in society.

The police added that the activists had not been arrested for their dissent or for their differences of opinion with the government.

Police said credible evidence existed against the accused, and that they should be remanded in their custody.

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The five activists were arrested by Pune Police on August 28. They included lawyer and trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad in Haryana, activist-poet Varavara Rao from Hyderabad, the activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves from Mumbai, and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha.

Later, hearing a petition against their arrests,the Supreme Court said the activists were to only be kept under house arrest and were not be transferred to Maharashtra.

The court will hear the case again on Thursday.

After the arrest of the activists, Maharashtra Police had held a press conference at which they said the activists had been in touch with Naxals and had been trying to procure arms and ammunition for them or help them financially.

They released a letter as proof, and said they had "thousands"of other similardocuments and letters as proof.

The activists havein turn said the police is lying and that their letters(s) of proof have been forged.

The Bombay High Court meanwhile pulled up Maharashtra Police for its press conference, and asked it why it was revealing details about a matter that was sub judice.