Detained "without charges", Allahabad HC orders police to produce adivasi women rights activists by Sept 7

Sukalo Gond

In a major breakthrough, the Allahabad High Court has directed the superintendent of police (SP), Sonbhadra district, to produce adivasi human rights defenders, Sukalo and Kismatiya Gond, detained for more than two months now, in the court on September 7.
The order was issued in a Habeas Corpus petition filed by the Citizens for Peace and Justice (CJP), which is led by well-known rights activist Teesta Setalvad, and the All-India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), on June 29. They were detained “illegally” on June 8, CJP said in a statement.
The detention followed a controversial clampdown May this year on 12 adivasis, including 10 women, of Lilasi Kala village of Sonebhadra district, Uttar Pradesh. They were detained on their way back from Lucknow, where they had a meeting with state forest minister Dara Singh Chauhan and forest secretary Sanjay Singh.
The activists met the minister and the secretary to lodge a complaint against "police brutality" of forest officials. They were reportedly picked up from Chopan station and were held for over 24 hours, during which time they were not allowed to contact their families, lawyers or anyone for help, after which they are said to have been “missing", with the police refusing to divulge their location.
Arguing in the court, advocate Farman Naqvi, who appeared for CJP and AIUFWP, has been quoted as saying, “Firstly they never stated the reason for custody or under what charges these women were being held. Sukalo's and Kismatiya’s names were not even mentioned in the FIR which is why they remained untraceable necessitating a Habeas Corpus Petition.”
Naqvi is also said to have highlighted the instances of how the UP Police made two different contradictory statements. “They made an oral submission in court on July 9 that both women had been taken into custody under section 151 for causing breach of peace, but later released. This submission was recorded by the court in the order sheet”, he said.
“However”, Naqvi added, “In the last week of July they submitted that both women were indeed arrested on June 8 and are presently in custody! We highlighted this anomaly in their statement during our arguments in court today.”
Closely following how adivasi women of Sonbhadra, UP, CJP said in a statement, they are part of a peaceful struggle for land rights and are being “systematically bullied and harassed. Many of them have fake cases filed against them on false or trumped up charges.”
Supporting AIUFWP in their demand for the immediate implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, CJP said, “UP cops have continued to play dirty, just to ensure that these brave women stay behind bars. CJP and AIUFWP have filed a rejoinder to the Counter Affidavit filed by the Inspector of Police, Rupesh Kumar Singh of Muirpur Police station, in the order passed on Habeas Corpus Petition (No 3332/2018 filed by CJP) hearing on August 14, 2018.”
Pointing out that rejoinder “bats for their release while highlighting several serious flaws in the Counter Affidavit”, CJP said, “Referring to several committee recommendations passed in the past, the rejoinder draws attention to the plight of adivasis and their struggle for their rights and dignity, and the specific historical context of Sonbhadra and its Adivasis.

Comments

Despite Hindutva hold claim, 18% Hindus in US don't want to be identified with Hinduism!

Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"

Adani Group a key player in Indo-Israel defence cooperation: Tel Aviv daily

Said to be one of the most influential Israeli dailies, "Haaretz" (literally: News of the Land) has identified the Adani Group—known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi—as one of the key Indian business houses engaged in defence cooperation with Israel. Pointing out that India supplied the Israeli military with Hermes 900 drones, the daily reported that this advanced aerial vehicle came off “the production line in a factory set up in Hyderabad, as part of the cooperation between the Israeli Elbit and India's Adani Group.”

Beyond Indus water treaty suspension: A 'nationalist' push despite harsh climate realities

The suspension of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) appears to have pushed the middle classes, at least in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat, further towards what the powers-that-be would consider—a "positive" direction. As usual, during my morning walk, I tried talking with a neighbour about what impact it would have. Ignoring what is widely considered a "security lapse," this person, who had just returned after buying milk, compared the Modi move with Trump.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Search This Blog