SC extends house arrest of five activists

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has extended the house arrest for five rights activists, accused of Maoist links, till September 17 when it will hear a petition seeking their release.

Last week, the Maharashtra Police told the Supreme Court that the arrests had nothing to do with the activists' dissenting opinion or difference in their political or other ideologies but were because of "serious criminal offences" and incriminating material.

The police cited evidence from the computers, laptops, pen drives and memory cards of the activists. The material "was shocking and implicating" and revealed the activists not only as active members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) but also a sinister design to destabilise the society.

The court is not dealing with somebody's freedom of speech, freedom of conscience or freedom to hold and express views, the police said, referring to the petition. See P6