October 9, 2020 10:52:27 pm
Father Stan Swamy is a Jharkhand-based Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist.
Ranchi Catholic Church issued a statement on Friday regarding the arrest of Father Stan Swamy saying they are “distraught” and “concerned” by the way the 83-year-old was arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA).
“It does not give glory to the name of the main national investigative agency, who could not find time in daylight to come take Fr.Stan Swamy and was able to reach his residence only after dark,” said the body. it’s a statement.
Father Stan Swamy is a Jharkhand-based Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist. He has worked in the state for more than three decades on various issues of the Adivasi communities on rights to land, forests and labor.
On Thursday, Swamy was arrested at his home in Ranchi in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case. He was brought to Mumbai from Ranchi and presented in court at 1:30 p.m. today, which then ordered that he be sent into judicial custody until 23 October. He will be housed in the central prison of Taloja.
“We would have hoped that the top investment officials had understood the danger to Fr. Stan’s health before taking him out of the house, especially since he was pleading with them, telling them it was night and he was sick,” the Church said.
Read | NIA charge sheets eight defendants in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case
The Church, in its statement, also alleged that Fr. Stan “has not eaten anything since yesterday (Thursday)” and asked the NIA for clarification for the same. He also called on the authorities “who have a voice in this matter” to “release Swamy immediately” and return him to his own residence.
“We reaffirm our faith and trust in the Constitution of India and our judicial institutions. We pray to the Almighty so that justice prevails and that the democratic rights of citizens are guaranteed, so that the sanitary guarantees imposed on society are also valid for the prisoners and the accused ”, said the Church.
The case relates to an FIR filed on January 8 in Pune related to an event organized in Shaniwar Wada called Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. Pune police arrested activists who claimed that the event was organized as part of a alleged Maoist activity and the accused were Its members.
He claimed that the event led to the violence that took place on January 1, 2018 in Bhima Koregaon, where thousands of Dalits had gathered to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, won by the British Army, which was composed of largely by soldiers. of the Dalit community – against the Peshwas in 1818. After the initial investigation by the Pune police for two years, the case was transferred to the NIA in January this year.
The defendants, including Swamy, have denied any Maoist ties and have said they are being targeted.
Swamy said the NIA falsely implied his connection to the Maoist forces. He said he has been working for the Adivasis and questioning the government on issues of land rights, representation of community members and forest rights. “This, I think, is the main reason why the state is willing to get me out of the way …” he said in a statement.
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