Stan Swamy is the oldest person in custody in the Koregaon-Bhima case.
New Delhi:
83-year-old activist Father Stan Swamy was sent to jail until Oct. 23 by a special court in Mumbai today, a day after his arrest by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in connection with the 2018 violence in the Koregaon-Bhima village of Maharashtra.
Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who works with tribes, was arrested at his home in Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi, by a team of NIA officials from Delhi. The night of the arrest has sparked massive outrage.
NIA officials said investigations established that Stan Swamy was actively involved in the activities of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and was “actively involved in its activities.” The agency also accused him of receiving funds for CPI-Maoist activities.
Officials reportedly spent about 20 minutes at his home before taking him away.
The agency said CPI (Maoist) documents and propaganda materials and literature were seized from Stan Swamy and that he was in contact with the other defendants in the Koregaon-Bhima case.
The activist priest had posted a video earlier this week claiming that he was under immense pressure and that the NIA had interrogated him for 15 hours.
“The NIA is chasing me. They pressure me to go to Bombay … They call me at the NIA office in Mumbai. I refuse to go there. I am 83 years old and have health problems. I want to expose myself to the coronavirus. I have never been to Bhima Koregaon, “Stan Swamy had said in a video Tuesday.
The case is related to an incident that occurred on December 31, 2017 in Koregaon-Bhima, near Pune, which was followed by acts of violence and fires that left one person dead. Investigators claim that activists at the event, a gathering of Elgar Parishad, had made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements that led to violence the next day.
The investigation also claimed to have uncovered a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the investigation, the NIA said, it was revealed that senior leaders of the CPI (Maoist), an organization banned under the Illicit Activities (Prevention) Act, were in contact with the organizers of the Elgar Parishad event, as well as the defendants. Arrested. in the case to spread Maoist and Naxal ideology and encourage illicit activities.
Several prominent activists, academics and lawyers have been imprisoned for more than two years while awaiting trial in the Koregaon Bhima case. Stan Swamy, who has several health problems, is the biggest arrested so far.
Originally from Kerala, Stan Swamy has worked for tribes in Jharkhand for more than five decades. He has been questioned several times by the NIA.
Author and historian Ramachandra Guha said Stan Swamy has spent “a lifetime fighting for the rights of adivasis. “
“That is why the Modi regime seeks to suppress and silence them; because for this regime, the profits of the mining companies take precedence over the lives and livelihoods of the Adivasis,” Guha tweeted.
“… Now arrested by the NIA under UAPA! The venality of this BJP and NIA government has no limits,” tweeted lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan.
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