Rights group condemns NIA notice to anti-displacement activist Rohit

By A Representative 

The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), a human rights coalition, has condemned a notice issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to Rohit, a former student activist at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and an anti-displacement activist who has worked among Adivasi communities and peasants in Bihar’s Kaimur region.

In a statement, CASR said the notice came shortly after Rohit secured bail in multiple cases filed by the Bihar Police and the NIA, following nearly three years in undertrial incarceration. The organisation alleged that the fresh notice amounted to continued harassment and intimidation of an activist involved in struggles concerning displacement, land rights and livelihoods.

Rohit was involved in student activism during his years at BHU and also worked for the rights of handloom weavers in Varanasi. After completing his education, he continued working among handloom workers before moving to the Kaimur region. According to CASR, he has worked there since 2019 among Adivasi peasants seeking rights over ancestral land and livelihoods amid concerns over possible displacement linked to plans for an eco-city in the region.

Rohit was arrested in 2023 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and faced multiple cases filed by the Bihar Police and the NIA. CASR said he remained in custody as an undertrial for nearly three years before being released on bail in all the cases. The organisation said the latest NIA notice relates to the Lucknow Conspiracy Case, registered as RC-01/2023/NIA/Lucknow.

CASR said Rohit’s case was part of a wider prosecution involving activists from different fields. It named anti-displacement activist Ajay Kumar, documentary filmmaker and activist Vishal Singh, and student and labour rights activist Priyanshu Kashyap among those arrested or prosecuted in connection with the Lucknow Conspiracy Case. According to CASR, their work has included organising among communities facing displacement, documenting social and political issues, and campaigning for labour and student rights.

The organisation alleged that the case represented an expanding crackdown on democratic organising, arguing that activism among workers, students, peasants, Adivasis and displaced communities was being portrayed as part of a criminal conspiracy. CASR also linked the cases to what it described as a broader pattern of criminalisation of movements defending “Jal, Jungle, Jameen” and opposing displacement, mining and other extractive projects.

CASR compared the alleged use of a broad conspiracy narrative in the Lucknow case with what it called a “Bhima Koregaon-type conspiracy” and criticised the use of investigative agencies and the UAPA against activists. The organisation said repeated investigations, summons and notices should not be used as instruments of intimidation.

CASR called for the immediate withdrawal of the NIA notice issued to Rohit and an end to what it described as surveillance and harassment of democratic activists. It also demanded the release of Ajay Kumar, Vishal Singh, Priyanshu Kashyap and others incarcerated in connection with the Lucknow Conspiracy Case, the quashing of FIR No. RC-01/2023/NIA/Lucknow, and repeal of the UAPA and other laws it considers repressive.

The organisation said it stood in solidarity with the activists and their families and urged democratic rights groups, student organisations, trade unions, farmers’ organisations, Adivasi and people’s organisations, lawyers, journalists and civil liberties groups to oppose what it described as the continuing targeting of activists.