NIA summons Varavara Rao’s sons-in-law

ELGAAR PARISHAD - BHIMA KOREGAON CASE

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has summoned poet Varavara Rao’s sons-in-law K. Satyanarayana and KV Kurmanath to appear before it on September 9.

K. Satyanarayana is a professor at the department of cultural studies, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad and KV Kurmanath is a senior journalist and husband of Rao's daughter Anala.

In a letter to friends, professor Satyanarayana, husband of Rao’s daughter Pavana, called the summons a “distressing news”. He recalled about his flat being raided in August 2018 by the Pune Police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. The NIA had later taken over from the Pune police.

He said that the 2018 raid was under the pretext of collecting evidence against his father-in-law and that he had stated then that he is in no way connected with the case. “The fact of Varavara Rao being my father-in-law was used to raid my house and cause mental agony,” he said.

“I thought it was all over,” he continued and reiterated that he is related to Rao but is in no way connected with the case.

“NIA adds to our family’s distress at a time when Varavara Rao’s health condition is not very good and the pandemic is fast spreading in Mumbai. I am travelling to Mumbai in these terrible times. I need your support and best wishes,” he said.

Varavara Rao’s nephew N. Venugopal took to social media regarding the development. He said that while the family is under constant harassment with Rao’s arrest, incarceration without trial, denial of bail, criminal negligence on providing better medical care and now it seems that the state wants to add some more distress to the family.

He too recalled the earlier raids on K. Satyanarayana and KV Kurmanath and said that those raids were on the pretext that Rao may be at his daughter’s homes but that already the police had been to Rao’s home and found him there. The raids had been unnecessary, he said.

An NIA spokesperson said it a matter of on-going investigation and preferred not to comment any further.