Fadnavis welcomes Bhima-Koregaon verdict; says 'activists were attempting to trigger civil war'

New Delhi: Soon after Supreme Court pronounced its verdict on Bhima-Koregaon and refused to interfere with the arrest of five rights activists by Maharashtra Police in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and declined to appoint a SIT to probe their arrest, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomed the decision calling it “Great victory for Pune Police and country”. “We welcome the decision. On basis of investigation conducted & evidence collected by Pune Police, it has been considered valid & SC has said it'll not interfere in the investigation” Fadnavis said. He further said that “SC accepted that there is no political influence and it’s not a plot to suppress voice of the opposition”. Speaking about the arrested social activists, CM said “They've (activists) been doing this for many years but there was no evidence against them, so probe couldn't be completed”. He further accused them of triggering a civil war, saying “They were attempting to trigger a civil war in the country. They were trying to shield the Naxals and to kill PM Modi. Now everything is being revealed”. The five activists -- Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha -- are under arrest at their respective homes since August 29. The Maharashtra police had arrested them 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 in the state.