Varavara Rao unwell, taken to hospital in Pune

Pune, Nov 19: Activist P Varavara Rao, who was arrested and sent to police custody till November 26 in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case on Sunday (November 18), is reportedly unwell and has been taken a hospital in Pune.

Rao was taken to Sassoon hospital in Pune after he complained of difficulties in breathing, said reports.

Rao was under the extended house arrest granted by the Hyderabad High Court in the Elgaar Parishad case. However, his house-arrest ended on Saturday, following which he was arrested by the Pune Police from his residence in Telangana's capital Hyderabad.

Rao had been arrested in August after a raid at his home and the houses of his family members and friends, including a journalist, by the Pune Police. Nine activists across the country had been raided by the Pune Police for alleged Maoist links; five of them were arrested, including Varavara Rao.

According to the police, Rao is allegedly connected with the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), which has been declared unlawful in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana for allegedly being a front of the CPI (Maoist). Rao was arrested for his alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.