Bhima Koregaon Raids: Country heading towards dictatorship, says Lalu Prasad

Patna, Aug 29: Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday said the country was heading towards dictatorship. He was reacting to the arrest of five human rights activists and alleged Maoist sympathisers, including Left ideologue Varavara Rao, in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima riots in Maharashtra.

The raids took place at 10 places in Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Haryana.

"The arrest of five intellectuals and activists on the charge of hatching a plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not good...the country is heading towards dictatorship," Prasad said at the Patna airport before leaving for Ranchi to appear before the Jharkhand High Court, which had given him provisional bail for medical treatment.

Several opposition parties, including the Congress and the CPM, have lashed out at the government over the arrest of activists and raids by police at their residences across five states.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave interim relief to the activists, arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence, saying they can be kept only under house arrest till the next hearing of the case.