HYDERABAD:The Supreme Court’s order on Wednesday granting house arrest and no-jail to left-wing intellectual and writer Varavara Rao brought immense relief to his family members.After several hours of shock, disbelief and trauma following simultaneous raids at their houses by the Pune police, Rao was arrested and taken to Pune on transit warrant from a local court.
When contacted, Rao’s wife Hemalatha termed the SC order as a victory of people across India who protested against the police action and stood in support of Rao. She termed the arrest as political and the case as fake. Rao was being targeted for being pro-people all his life, she alleged.
Rao’s eldest daughter Sahaja, who came from Warangal, said, “Never before was family targeted like this. Whether it be the Bhima Koregaon violence or any other, my father has always supported the victims and he is being targeted for that.”
However, none of the family members had any clue as to when Rao would return home or about his location or the legal process that would follow. N Venugopal, a journalist and relative of Rao, said that they had not heard from Rao since Tuesday when he was taken to a court in Hyderabad before being whisked away by the Pune police.