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Civil rights activists and organisations on Friday condemned the arrest of Stan Swamy, 83-year-old tribal rights activist, by the National Investigation Agency within the Bhima Koregaon case.
Mr. Swamy, arrested on Thursday from his Ranchi home, was despatched to judicial custody until October 23.
Terming the arrest a gross violation of human rights and democratic norms, the activists stated, “Mr. Swamy has worked for Adivasi rights since decades in Jharkhand.”
“The inhuman act of the NIA authorities in arresting Mr. Swamy stands out for its sheer vindictiveness. He fully cooperated with the investigating officers when they questioned him for over 15 hours [on 27, 30 July and 6 August],” they stated in a assertion.
The activists identified that Mr. Swamy had persistently denied any hyperlink with extremist leftist forces or Maoists.
Also learn: Bhima Koregaon case | Arrested activists allege NIA stress to apologise
“He had also clearly told the NIA that some so-called extracts allegedly taken from his computer shown to him by the NIA were fake and fabricated and that he disowned them,” says the assertion.
“Among other issues, he works on displacement, corporate loot of resources, the condition of undertrials and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act. Mr. Swamy has been a vocal critic of the BJP government’s attempts to amend land laws and the land acquisition Act in Jharkhand, and a strong advocate of the Forest Rights Act, PESA and related laws,” it says.
“We firmly believe that the Bhima-Koregaon case is baseless,” the activists stated within the assertion.
They appealed to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who had earlier opposed Mr. Swamy’s arrest, to withstand the arrest this time too. Mr. Soren ought to demand the speedy launch of Mr. Swamy and closure of the case, stated Bharat Bhushan Choudhary of the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha.
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