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Month: October 2020

NIA says Kabir Kala Manch’s plays, songs led to violence, death at Bhima Koregaon

NIA says Kabir Kala Manch’s plays, songs led to violence, death at Bhima Koregaon

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

Central agency files third chargesheet, says banned CPI (Maoist) misled Dalits.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) said, “Activists of Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) were making objectionable statements about history which were detrimental to the social harmony and they were playing street plays, singing objectionable songs which led to stone pelting, violence, arson and death in the area of Koregaon Bhima.”
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Jyoti Jagtap – The Young Woman Who Would Not Cry

Jyoti Jagtap – The Young Woman Who Would Not Cry

Article 14 / by Jyoti Punwani

Jyoti Jagtap sang against Hindutva, casteism, inequality. In September, unafraid and resolute, she became the third member of a cultural troupe to be arrested in the Bhima-Koregaon case and its youngest accused. Like 15 others, she faces charges of sedition and waging war against the government of India.
“You can counsel the other inmates in jail. That way your time inside won’t be wasted.”
With these words, Rupali Jadhav bid farewell to her Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) colleague Jyoti Jagtap in the Pune office of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on 8 September 2020.
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PUCL and opposition political parties demand release of Stan Swamy and repeal of UAPA

PUCL and opposition political parties demand release of Stan Swamy and repeal of UAPA


+++ Read report of the virtual press conference organized by the PUCL / Watch the various video statements given during the press conference +++

PUCL and opposition political parties demand release of Father Stan Swamy and repeal of UAPA

22/10/2020

Frontline / by Anupama Katakam

A multi-party press conference organised by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) condemned the arrest of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist and social worker based in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Swamy is the latest victim of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) mission to hunt down people reportedly linked to the Bhima Koregaon incident, which the agency says was orchestrated by Maoist groups…
Leaders from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren have demanded Swamy’s release and said a movement to repeal the archaic and dangerous Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), under which activists, intellectuals and lawyers have been arrested, must gain momentum.
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‘Today it was Stan Swamy, tomorrow it will be us’: Opposition leaders call for repeal of UAPA

21/10/2020

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Hemant Soren, MPs Shashi Tharoor, Supriya Sule and Kanimozhi urged the people to speak up against the Centre’s attempts to ‘chip away at the rights of people’.
Opposition leaders on Wednesday expressed solidarity with 83-year-old Jesuit priest and human rights activist Stan Swamy, who has been detained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case along with several other activists.
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Opposition leaders condemn arrest of activist Stan Swamy, demand repeal of UAPA

21/10/2020

The New Indian Express / by Express News Service

Leaders from the Congress, Left and DMK slammed the arrest of octogenarian Stan Swamy over alleged links with the Bhima Koregaon case.
NEW DELHI: Leaders from across the political spectrum called for the repeal of UAPA and said there was an urgent need for Opposition parties to unite to fight the ruling party in order to protect the country’s constitutional values.
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Hyderabad actvist asks NHRC to look into Varavara Rao’s case

Hyderabad actvist asks NHRC to look into Varavara Rao’s case

The New Indian Express / by Express News Service

He requested the commission to take steps to provide medical care to Saibaba.
Hyderabad: MA Satyanarayana Rao, a city-based activist, has approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), requesting it to look into the alleged human rights violations to jailed Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and revolutionary poet Varavara Rao. He requested the commission to take steps to provide medical care to Saibaba.
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Report and Videos of the PUCL Press Conference: The Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case

Report and Videos of the PUCL Press Conference: The Bhima Koregaon Conspiracy Case

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Report of the Virtual Press Conference held on 21st October, 2020 organised by the PUCL

Opposition Leaders, Civil Society denounce arrest of Stan Swamy and other activists in Bhima Koregaon case;
Call for repeal of UAPA!

► The videos of speeches of speakers are available here
► The documents are available here

Introduction
PUCL organised a virtual Press Conference on 21st October, 2020 to condemn the illegal arrest of Fr. Stan Swamy of Jharkhand and 15 other activists in the Bhima Koregaon case. The Press Conference was to create a platform for different civil society groups and political parties to jointly condemn the brazen abuse of UAPA by the Central Government against dissenters and demand repeal of draconian anti-human rights laws like UAPA and anti-sedition law. The following is a summary of the speeches made by different speakers.
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NIA Claims Arrested Accused Were Attempting to Create a ‘Dalit Militia’

NIA Claims Arrested Accused Were Attempting to Create a ‘Dalit Militia’

NIA Claims Arrested Accused Were Attempting to Create a ‘Dalit Militia’

21/10/2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The NIA chargesheet has sidelined the Pune police’s earlier claim that the accused were plotting to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mumbai: In the over 10,000-page chargesheet recently filed in the Elgar Parishad case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has stacked together statements by witnesses who have made claims ranging from arms training undertaken by a few arrested accused in the forests of central India to some trying to “reinvent Dalit militancy” in the country.
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Teltumbde brought Maoist literature, videos from abroad: NIA chargesheet

21/10/2020

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has alleged in its chargesheet filed in the Elgar Parishad case that former IIT professor Anand Teltumbde attended international conferences “under the guise of… academic visits abroad” and brought back Maoist literature and videos on “ideology, tactics, weapons” to show members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
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CPI(M) gets Rs 3 crore a year from Maharashtra, MP & Chhattisgarh zone, says NIA chargesheet

21/10/2020

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

The National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) 10,000-page chargesheet in the Elgaar Parishad case relies on witness statements to draw up details about the banned CPI (Maoist), including its means of funding, training and recruitment.
According to a witness, members of the organisation collect Rs 350 per bag of tendua leaves – containing 1,000 pouches – as tax.
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NIA chargesheet claims triangular links between Delhi student front, accused and CPI (Maoist)

21/10/2020

Free Press Journal / by Bhavna Uchil

The chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case has claimed a “concrete triangular link between a student’s organization functioning in New Delhi, arrested accused and CPI (Maoist) operating from the deep forest”.
It states that the issues related with the student front at JNU DSU are highlighted with some of the communication made with Maoist.
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Music videos: Wake Up Call – Bhima Koregaon / Stan Swamy – Not a Silent Spectator

Music videos: Wake Up Call – Bhima Koregaon / Stan Swamy – Not a Silent Spectator

By Bombay Jesuits

The not so justified proceedings of the Bhima Koregaon case have been highlighted in this song. The recent arrest of Fr. Stan Swamy in this case who claims that he has never been to Bhima Koregaon has caused an uproar in the society. The arrest of lawyers, poets, activists and the like, who question the authorities is a WAKE UP CALL to stand with them, to stand for freedom and to stand for justice.
Watch music video

Fr. Stan Swamy SJ – Not a Silent Spectator (Ekla Chalo Re)

By Bombay Jesuits

Fr. Stan Swamy SJ, who fought for the Adivasi rights in central India, has been arrested under UAPA by the NIA. He stood for the Adivasis even when many others dared not to. He spoke for them even when many chose to keep quiet. Living up to this prophetic calling Fr. Stan stands as a beacon for many religious and lay activists. At a time when he, along with others arrested in their fight for justice, are tried by various forces, we stand with them in solidarity and pride.
Watch music video

UN High Commissioner Bachelet dismayed at restrictions on NGOs and arrests of activists in India

UN High Commissioner Bachelet dismayed at restrictions on NGOs and arrests of activists in India

By United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner

News Release
GENEVA: – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday appealed to the Government of India to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs, and their ability to carry out their crucial work on behalf of the many groups they represent…
Read full statement

Note on life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy & the case / His arrest is an insult to justice

Note on life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy & the case / His arrest is an insult to justice

Life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy and the Bhima Koregaon case

20/10/2020

Indian Cultural Forum / by Frazer Mascarenhas

Fr. Stan Swamy was arrested by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) on 8th October in Ranchi and he was sent to Taloja jail after being charged in a false and fabricated conspiracy case related to the Bhima Koregaon incident that took place on 1st January, 2018. Here is a brief note on the life and work of Fr. Stan Swamy and the Bhima Koregaon case.
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India’s arrest of an 83-year-old priest on terrorism charges is an insult to justice

18/10/2020

The Guardian / by Mari Marcel Thekaekara

Father Stan Swamy, who was helping indigenous people fight mining corporates, is far from a violent Maoist.
A frail, ailing 83-year-old Jesuit priest, Father Stan Swamy, has become the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India. He is incarcerated in a Mumbai jail after his arrest last week.
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