MAOISTS PLOT TO KILL MODI, FADNAVIS, CLAIM PUNE POLICE

PUNE/MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra police claimed to have unearthed separate Maoists plots to purportedly assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a “Rajiv Gandhi-type incident” during one of his road shows and targeting state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for initiating operations against rebels.

In a submission before a local court on Thursday, the Pune police said it had found a letter in the computer of Delhi-based activist Rona Jacob Wilson, one of the five accused of inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon, detailing a plan to kill the Prime Minister .

The letter addressed to one “comrade Prakash” by another person identified by the letter R, and sent last April, raised concerns over the Modi-led BJP winning 15 states and talks of procuring weapons and ammunition worth ₹8 crore. “We are thinking along the lines of another Rajiv Gandhi-type incident,” the letter read, adding: “targeting his (Modi’s) road shows could be an effective strategy.”

Public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar told the court that the letter revealed a plot to “kill someone” and did not name any leader. Pune’s joint commissioner of police Ravindra Kadam said the letter is one of the documents found by the Pune police team.

Reacting to the police claim, Justice (retired) BG Kolse Patil, a member of Elgar Parishad that organised the Bhima Koregaon event on January 1, said: “The government wants to crush the voices which are opposing them.”

He got the backing of Union social justice minister and Dalit leader Ramdas Athawale who said the Parishad had “no Naxal” connection.