Maoists observe fast in Coimbatore prison

COIMBATORE: Two

Maoists

lodged in the Coimbatore Central Prison observed a

fast

on Monday condemning the arrests of two men -- Rasheed and Hari Sharma -- who had come to meet them a couple of weeks ago.

On June 12, police arrested Rasheed and Harihara Sharma, both hailing from Kerala, for allegedly attempting to give pen drives to the Maoists in the prison. They were remanded in judicial custody by a district court.

Anoop Mathew George and C Veeramani, the Maoists lodged in the prison here, condemned the move of the police and said the department was arresting innocent people.

Five Maoists -- R Roopesh, R Shyna, Anoop Mathew George, C Veeramani and S Kannan -- were arrested by the Q branch police from a bakery at Karumathampatti on the outskirts of the Coimbatore on May 4, 2015.