CHENNAI: The grounds for the arrests of activists in the country in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence were baseless and the raids carried out simply to stifle voices of dissent against the government, said members of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)’s Chennai metropolitan unit.
Condemning the arrest of the five human rights activists, including PUCL national secretary Sudha Bharadwaj, the PUCL members organised a press meet here on Sunday, addressed by retired High Court judge D. Hariparanthaman.
The Maharashtra police arrived at Sudha’s house in Badrapur, Haryana on the morning of August 28 and served her a warrant in Marathi, a language she does not speak, according to a statement from the PUCL.
“She was later shown a copy of FIR filed in Pune with regard to a cultural programme held in December 31, 2017. The FIR does not contain her name. The searching officers seem to have added the sections of 13 and 14 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their convenience,” a PUCL statement said.
Human rights activists Gautam Navlakha from Delhi, Arun Ferreira from Thane, Vernon Gonsalves from Mumbai, Anand Teltumbede, a writer based in Goa and poet P Varavara Rao from Hyderabad have also been taken into custody in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence.
Demanding their release, PUCL members said the arrests were part of coordinated efforts to silence the voices raised for the most marginalised, exploited and deprived sections of the society.
“The PUCL units in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry unequivocally condemn the high-handed action of the Maharashtra police in threatening and foisting cases on the activists and behaving in contradiction to the very law that they serve to protect the people,” the statement added.
Silencing voices
Demanding their release, PUCL members said the arrests were part of coordinated efforts to silence the voices raised for the most marginalised, exploited and deprived sections of the society