Skip to main content

Absolute falsehood meant to discredit us, say activists on Maharashtra police linking them with Maoist extremism

Stan Swamy, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde
Counterview Desk
Referring to a series of media briefings by Maharashtra police, seeking to implicate several senior activists -- who were either arrested or their houses were simultaneously raided on August 28 -- for their "Maoist" links, three of them, Father Stan Swamy, Sudha Bharadwaj and Anand Teldumbde, have gone public to term it as "absolute fabrication".

Stan Swamy's statement

In his open statement, Swamy, those house was raided in Ranchi, Chhattisgarh, says that "powerful interests" within the government have not only have foisted a case of sedition against me in Jharkhand but now have included him in a false case that links me with banned organizations at national level in order to "discredit" him.
According to Stan Swamy, "Maharashtra police held a press conference in Mumbai on August 31, 2018. Additional Director-General (law and order) of Maharashtra police Mr. Parambir Singh told the media that in relation to the incident of Bhima-Koregaon, initially a FIR was lodged on January 8, 2018. According to him the name of Stan Swamy was added in the aforesaid FIR on August 23 along with the names of Arun Fereira, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalvez, Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde.
He continues, "In the same press conference, ADG Parambir Singh talked about a letter allegedly written by Adv. Sudha Bhardwaj.
"This letter, according to Maharashtra police, mentions that for the work of Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee (PPSC) Stan Swamy had been appointed by comrade Prashant. It is also mentioned in the aforesaid letter that Sudha Bharadwaj had asked Stan Swamy to provide some funds for the activities of CPI (Maoist), but Stan Swamy did not make any definite commitment in this regard.
"I would like to make it clear on my part with regard to the content of the said letter that Sudha Bhardwaj never asked me for any fund for the activities as mentioned in the letter. It is nothing but complete concoction and absolute falsehood that is being propagated by the Maharashtra police. Sudha Bhardwaj has also repeatedly denied the veracity of the said letter and has said that it is a fabricated letter.
"Further, I believe that the possible reason behind this concoction of the case against me along with Sudha Bhardwaj is that I have been the convener of PPSC formed in December, 2015. I wish to make it clear that PPSC was formed purely to help under trial prisoners and it has no link whatsoever with any banned organizations.
"I have also filed a PIL in the Jharkhand High Court at Ranchi for the speedy trial of the under trial prisoners, languishing in the jails of Jharkhand. Taking serious note of my PIL, Hon’ble Jharkhand High Court on January 8, 2018 ordered the state of Jharkhand to provide all relevant and necessary information from all the jails of Jharkhand which must reveal the reasons for undue delay in the trial of these under trial prisoners. Still the proceedings in said PIL are going on in Jharkhand High Court.
"In addition to this PIL, I have been raising awareness among Adivasi and Dalit people for their rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution especially the rights of the adivasi community provided in the Fifth Schedule and their right of self governance through Gram Sabhas as provided in PESA Act; I have also tried to make them aware of the judgment of the Supreme Court that ‘the owner of the land is also the owner of the subsoil minerals.’ I have also raised voice against the formation of Land Bank that intends to take over the 'commons' such as roads, rivers, ponds, burial grounds, community forest lands etc which are traditionally used by the community.
"I fear that these activities of mine have angered the powerful interests within the government that they not only have foisted a case of sedition against me in Jharkhand but now have included me in a false case that links me with banned organizations at national level in order to discredit me together with other intellectuals, legal professionals and social activists raising our voices for the rights of poorest of poor people in the state of Jharkhand and all over India."

Sudha Bharadwaj's statement

Earlier, Sudha Bharadwaj, who was arrested in an early morning swoop in Delhi, made the following statement through her advocate Vrinda Grover on August 31, referring to the letter purportedly written by her suggesting her Maoist links, said, "It is a totally concocted letter fabricated to criminalize me and other human rights lawyers, activists and organisations."
In her statement, she said, "It is a mixture of innocuous and publicly available facts and baseless fabrication. Various legal and democratic activities such as meetings, seminars, protests have been sought to be delegitimised by alleging that they are funded by Maoists.
"A number of human rights lawyers, activists and organisations have been deliberately named to cast a stigma over them, to obstruct their work and incite hatred against them.
"There is an effort to delegitimise IAPL an association of lawyers whose president is Retd J. Hospet Suresh and which has been active in speaking up against attacks on lawyers.
"I categorically state that I have never given Rs. 50, 000 to hold any programme in Moga. Nor do I know any Ankit from Maharashtra or Com Ankit who is in touch with Kashmiri separatists.
"I know Gautam Navlakha, a senior and respected human rights activist whose name has been mentioned in a manner to criminalize and incite hatred against him.
"I know Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group well and have never solicited any funds for them least of all from any banned organisation. I categorically state that their work has been absolutely legitimate and legal.
"I know Advocate Degree Prasad Chouhan a dalit human rights activist who is active in PUCL and works with the Human Rights Law Network. Totally baseless allegation has been made against him.
"There has been an effort to criminalize and incite hatred against various lawyers activists and organisations who have exposed HR violations in Bastar, Chhattisgarh.
"I once again declare that this is a fabricated letter, which I had refuted when it was flashed on Republic TV on July 4, and which has not even been brought before either the Pune Court nor the CJM Faridabad while seeking to whisk me away to Pune."

Anand Teldumbde's statement

Referring to a news item in "The Hindu", Dr Anand Teltumbde has said it is total falsehood to say that that he has been going abroad for meetings to collect funds for Maoists. The news item published in "The Hindu" under the heading “Activist held meets abroad: police”, according to him, says:
"The arrested accused claimed they needed to stoke violence and tension and maximize the death of a Dalit youth during the Bhima Koregaon riots, Mr Singh claimed, while reading out from a purported letter written by Mr Anand Teltumbde to Mr Wilson in January this year. According to Mr. Singh the letter said, 'It is time we carried out a big strike as is being suggested by VV (Varavara Rao) and Surendra', referring to 80 vehicles burnt on the instruction of Mr Rao."
Denying the allegation, Dr Teltumbde said, "I am stunned to see such white lies being spread by the police to malign me. I state that while I know Rona since his JNU days and thereafter off and on as an activist, but never had I written to him even an email, leave apart letter. It is distressing that the state stoops to such lows to malign a defenceless citizen like me, who even in the face of it could not be connected with such bizarre activities.
"I have been an alumnus of IIM Ahmadabad, and had my entire career in corporate world ending with Managing Director and CEO of a holding company. Even, thereafter, when IIT Kharagpur invited me to join its faculty, I taught Business management for over five years. This year I launched India’s first Big Data Analytics programme in management. Can any sane person link up this background of mine with the bizarre stories police is churning out through so called letters.
"Already, in having a raid on my house in the campus they have ruined my image before my students and jeopardized their careers as they in some way are linked with my own reputation. My family, my vast friend circle, my corporate contacts, everything is devastated with this false campaign the police launched for whatever intension.
"I heard from some journalists that the police spokesman in his press conference yesterday referred to my foreign visits that I collected money. I am a reputed scholar and go on invitations of universities abroad, and all these tours are well documented. Such kind of deliberate falsehood and fabrication by the state agent is dangerous for this country’s future to say the least."

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Mergers and privatisation: The Finance Minister’s misguided banking agenda

By Thomas Franco   The Finance Minister has once again revived talk of merging two or three large public sector banks to make them globally competitive. Reports also suggest that the government is considering appointing Managing Directors in public sector banks from the private sector. Both moves would strike at the heart of India’s public banking system . Privatisation undermines the constitutional vision of social and economic justice, and such steps could lead to irreversible damage.
Post a Comment
»

Political misfires in Bihar: Reasons behind the Opposition's self-inflicted defeat

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  The Bihar Vidhansabha Election 2025 verdict is out. I maintained deliberate silence about the growing tribe of “social media” experts and their opinions. Lately, these do not fascinate me. Anyone forming an opinion solely on the basis of these “experts” lives in a fool’s paradise. I do not watch them, nor do I follow them on Twitter. I stayed away partly because I was not certain of a MahaGathbandhan victory, even though I wanted it. But my personal preference is not the issue here. The parties disappointed.
Post a Comment
»

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah  Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".
51 comments
»

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...
Post a Comment
»

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...
Post a Comment
»

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...
Post a Comment
»

Whither GIFT City push? Housing supply soars in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, not Ahmedabad

By Rajiv Shah    A new report by a firm describing itself as a "digital real estate transaction and advisory platform," Proptiger , states that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has been the largest contributor to housing units among India's top eight cities currently experiencing a real estate boom. Accounting for 26.9% of all new launches, it is followed by Pune with 18.7% and Hyderabad with 13.6%. These three cities collectively represented 59.2% of the new inventory introduced during the third quarter (July to September 2025), which is the focus of the report’s analysis. 
Post a Comment
»

Only one Indian national park rated ‘good’ by IUCN: Concerns over ecological governance

By A Representative   Environmental policy expert Shankar Sharma has written to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and its affiliated institutions, expressing grave concern over India’s deteriorating ecological health. Citing the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s latest global review, which found that only Khangchendzonga National Park received a “Good” rating among 107 national parks, Sharma warned that the findings reveal a “serious concern for the overall health of the country’s flora, fauna, and environment.”
Post a Comment
»

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.
Post a Comment
»