Stan Swamy, 83, is the oldest person detained in the Koregaon-Bhima case.
New Delhi / Ranchi:
An 83-year-old Jesuit priest was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in connection with the 2018 violence investigation in the village of Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.
Father Stan Swamy, a tribal activist, was picked up from his home in Jharkhand’s capital, Ranchi, by a team of NIA officials from Delhi. Officials reportedly spent about 20 minutes at his home before taking him away.
The arrest has sparked outrage. Author and historian Ramachandra Guha said Stan Swamy has spent “a lifetime fighting for the rights of the 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.
Like Sudha Bharadwaj, Stan Swamy has spent his entire life fighting for the rights of the Adivasis. That is why the Modi regime seeks to repress and silence them; because for this regime, the profits of the mining companies take precedence over the lives and livelihoods of the Adivasis.
– Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) October 9, 2020
Lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan tweeted: “… Now arrested by the NIA under UAPA! The venality of this BJP and NIA government knows no bounds (sic).”
Several prominent activists, academics and lawyers have been incarcerated for more than two years while awaiting trial.
Stan Swamy, who has various health problems, is the oldest person in custody in the Koregaon-Bhima case. He has been questioned several times in the past in connection with the case. Originally from Kerala, Stan Swamy has worked for tribes in Jharkhand for more than five decades.
The case relates to an incident that occurred on December 31, 2017 in Pune, followed by violence and arson in Maharashtra that left one person dead.
Investigators claim that activists at the Elgar Parishad meeting had made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements, which they said had sparked violence the following day.
Last month, the Supreme Court refused to consider a request for a provisional bail on medical grounds by lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj, who is among the defendants in the case. Ms. Bharadwaj, 58, has been in jail in Mumbai for more than two years and suffers from diabetes and comorbidities and wanted a provisional bond to be able to undergo a medical check-up, her lawyer had said.
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.
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