SC extends house arrest of activists over Bhima Koregaon violence till September 19

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday extended the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with Bhima-Koregaon violence case till September 19. The Central government will on September 19 produce the case diary and other evidence on the basis of which action was taken against the activists.

The five rights activists - Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha - at their respective homes.

The SC bench said that if the evidence provided by the police is not adequate, it may consider handing over the case to SIT for further investigation. "Every criminal investigation is based on allegations and we have to see whether there is some material," the bench said.

The SC has alotted Maharashtra government 45 minutes and 15 minutes to the defendants to finish its final arguments in the case. 

The Maharashtra police had arrested the rights activists on August 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- 'Elgaar Parishad' -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.