Karnataka: Poet Varavara Rao in Tumakuru cops' custody

BENGALURU: Poet and activist P Varavara Rao was produced before a court in Pavagada, Tumakuru district, on Thursday for his alleged involvement in the 2005 Naxal attack which claimed the lives of six Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) personnel and a civilian.
Assigned to take on Naxalites frequenting the forests of Pavagada and surrounding areas, KSRP contingents had camped in different villages of the region.One KSRP team sleeping inside a school in Venkatammanahalli was attacked by a large group of armed Naxalites.
Rao had earlier been arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018 and was lodged in Pune's Yerawada jail.
On Wednesday, Tumakuru police took Rao into their custody from Yerawada and reached Pavagada on Thursday afternoon. He was later produced before the court.
"We have been given two days to question Rao. We have sufficient evidence to prove his involvement in the 2005 attack," an investigating officer said.