Raids on naxal sympathisers: Details of the 5 arrested persons

New Delhi, Aug 29: Following a nation wide raid, the Pune police arrested five alleged naxal sympathisers from different parts of the country.

The five arrested include Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Fereira and Gautam Navlakha. Who are these five persons. Take a look below.

Sudha Bharadwaj: Known as a trade union leader, she has been living in Chattisgarh for the past 30 years. An American citizen by birth, she came to India at the age of 11. She gave up her US citizenship at the age of 18 and studied at the IIT-Kanpur. She is the general secretary of the Chhattisgarh, People's Union for Civil Liberties.

Varavara Rao: He is a poet and journalist, known to propagate Maoist ideology. He hails from Andhra Pradesh and has been arrested several times in the past under charges of conspiring to destabilise the government. He also founded 'Virasam', Revolutionary Writers' Association which was later banned by the Andhra Pradesh Government.

Vernon Gonsalves: In 2007, he had been arrested for being part of the banned CPI (Maoist). The 60 year old was accused of planning terror acts. In April 2014, he was convicted under the Arms Act and after being found guilty of possessing arms. He was sentenced to three years in jail.

Arun Ferreira: He was arrested in 2007 and charged for propaganda. He was also booked in ten different cases including sedition and waging war against the country. In 2015, he got his licence from the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa and is a practising lawyer in Mumbai.

Gautam Navlakha: He has been associated with the People's Union for Democratic Rights and is also a Delhi based journalist. He is also an editorial consultant of the Economic and Political Weekly. He had demanded the repeal of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He has also been a frequent visitor to Kashmir and has written about the human rights violations there.