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Category: Persecution

PUDR: Condemn the surreptitious transfer of Gautam Navlakha to Taloja Jail

PUDR: Condemn the surreptitious transfer of Gautam Navlakha to Taloja Jail

By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights

People’s Union for Democratic Rights is aghast at the National Investigating Agency (NIA) surreptitiously whisking away Gautam Navlakha from the Tihar Jail to Mumbai on 25 May 2020, without informing his lawyers or his family. 67-year old Gautam Navlakha was arrested by the NIA in the Bhima Koregaon matter, the infamous case that has become the vehicle to arrest human rights activists: journalists, academicians and lawyers critical of government actions.
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It Appears NIA Acted In Haste To Move Gautam Navlakha To Mumbai: Delhi HC [Read Order]

It Appears NIA Acted In Haste To Move Gautam Navlakha To Mumbai: Delhi HC [Read Order]

Live Law / by Karan Tripathi

In the matter pertaining to the bail plea of Gautam Navlakha, the Delhi High Court has directed National Investigation Agency to furnish the complete copy of the proceedings in the application for issuance of production warrants moved before the Special Judge (Mumbai), for its consideration.
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Even as Delhi HC Weighs Interim Bail Plea, NIA Rushes Gautam Navlakha to Mumbai Custody

26/05/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Navlakha has been sent to judicial custody and will be lodged at Taloja jail near Mumbai. The Wire has reported that an inmate recently died there of COVID-19.
New Delhi/Mumbai: In a move that took his lawyers and family by surprise, the noted civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was shifted by the National Investigation Agency from Delhi to Mumbai on Monday and remanded to judicial custody by a special NIA court till June 22.
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Appeal: Save our father Varavara Rao – Release him immediately from Taloja Jail

Appeal: Save our father Varavara Rao – Release him immediately from Taloja Jail


Varavara Rao greeting family members, 2018 (Photo: DC)

South Asia Citizens Web / by P Sahaja, P Anala, P Pavana

To
The Governor, Maharashtra,
The Chief Justice, High Court of Maharashtra,
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra,
We, P Sahaja, P Anala, P Pavana, daughters of the famous revolutionary poet P Varavara Rao, who is incarcerated in Maharashtra jails (in Yerawada, Pune jail till February 2020 and in Taloja, Navi Mumbai jail since then) in a fabricated case, are perturbed to see the news that a prisoner died in Taloja jail due to Covid-19, as admitted by the government in a PIL case in Mumbai High Court yesterday.
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CITING HEALTH, VARAVARA RAO’S DAUGHTERS URGE MAHARASHTRA CM UDDHAV THACKERAY FOR HIS PAROLE

The New Indian Express / by Express News Service

Earlier, at least 40 prominent writers had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting the release of Rao amid the crisis.
MUMBAI: Family members of poet, writer and activist Varavara Rao, jailed in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case, appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to release him on parole amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state and in its prisons.
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COVID-19: Jails turn into hotbeds of disease

COVID-19: Jails turn into hotbeds of disease


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

COVID-19: AT LEAST THREE DIE IN MAHARASHTRA PRISONS

26/05/2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

In an affidavit submitted to the Bombay high court in response to a PIL, the state government said that a prisoner each has died in the central prisons of Taloja and Yerwada, and in Dhule district prison. Maharashtra is the first state to have reported deaths in prisons so far.
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COVID-19: Jails turn into hotbeds of disease

25/05/2020

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

Judges withhold bail; several prison reforms recommended over the years have fallen through the cracks.
On May 5, two months after the Arthur Road jail superintendent warned that an outbreak of COVID-19 could not be contained in the jail due to overcrowding, his worst fears came true: the first positive case was discovered in the precincts.
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Maharashtra Prisoner Released on Parole Says Jails Unprepared to Handle COVID-19 Pandemic

30/03/2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

No transport has been arranged for those who are released, while inmates still in prison fear for their health.
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NIA opposes interim bail plea of Shoma Sen, Varavara Rao and Sudha Bhardwaj

NIA opposes interim bail plea of Shoma Sen, Varavara Rao and Sudha Bhardwaj

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The three accused have moved the special court separately for interim bail on the ground of the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in prison, and have expressed concerns about contracting SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA), which has been probing the Elgar Parishad case since January, has opposed the plea for interim bail filed by the accused activists Dr Shoma Sen, Vara Vara Rao, and Sudha Bhardwaj. … The next hearing will be held on May 28.
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GUIDELINES TO FREE INMATES ON TEMPORARY BAIL NOT APPLICABLE TO ACCUSED: NIA

23/05/2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The high-powered committee, which was constituted to decongest jails in the state, has recommended the release of all undertrials with exceptions, including those facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Elgaar Parishad accused are booked under UAPA. It has, however, left it to such accused to file for interim bail to be considered on medical grounds or circumstances of the case by the courts.
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Judicial custody of Anand Teltumbde extended till June 5

Judicial custody of Anand Teltumbde extended till June 5

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Friday extended the judicial custody of Anand Teltumbde, an engineer and Indian Institute of Management graduate who used to teach at the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur), arrested by the agency on April 14 in connection with the Elghar Parishad case, till June 5.
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Delhi HC to Hear Gautam Navlakha Bail Plea

Delhi HC to Hear Gautam Navlakha Bail Plea

The Quint / by The Quint

The Delhi High Court on Friday, 22 May, issued notice in the interim bail plea filed by human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who is in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Justice Anup J Bhambhani has directed the NIA to respond to the bail plea by the next date of hearing, which has been set as 27 May.
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Mumbai Police Quiz Jailed Activist’s Family About His Whereabouts

Mumbai Police Quiz Jailed Activist’s Family About His Whereabouts


Pic: Sagar, Vernon, Susan

The Quint / by Ankita Sinha

On 11 May 2020, two police officials with the Mumbai Crime Branch reportedly paid a visit to social activist Vernon Gonsalves’s home, with the intent of finding out Gonsalves’s whereabouts. They questioned his wife, Susan Abraham, who is also an advocate and his son Sagar.
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UN Bodies pass joint statement on Covid-19 in prisons and other closed settings

UN Bodies pass joint statement on Covid-19 in prisons and other closed settings


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Leaflet / by Ujjaini Chatterji

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes, the World Health Organization, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have taken note of the spread of Covid-19 in prisons and other closed settings. In this regard, they have issued a statement urging political leaders to undertake the necessary public health measures to counter and mitigate this threat.
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MAHARASHTRA RELEASES 7,200 PRISONERS TO CURB OVERCROWDING

17/05/2020

The New Indian Express / by PTI

In a bid to decongest state jails due to coronavirus outbreak, the state prisons department has so far released over 7,200 prisoners across the state on either temporary bail or parole.
PUNE: Authorities in Maharashtra have released over 7,200 prisoners so far to check overcrowding in jails amid the coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Sunday.
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INDIA DECONTESTS ITS JAILS TO CHECK CORONAVIRUS BUT POLITICAL PRISONERS ARE STILL LOCKED UP

14/05/2020

Quartz India / by Manavi Kapur

Overcrowded Indian prisons have become hotbeds of coronavirus cases.
In March, India’s supreme court recognised this risk—total occupancy of India’s jails standing at 115% —and set down guidelines for releasing some prisoners on parole and bail.
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