Senior activists and former political prisoners, talking with mediapersons in Dakhi, have drawn attention to conditions inside Indian jails, even as demanding the immediate release of documentary filmmaker Vishal Singh on medical grounds, citing his deteriorating health. The press conference was held under the banner of the civil rights network, Campaign Against State Repression (CASR).
Speaking at the event, activist Atikur Rahman recounted his own experience of alleged medical negligence while jailed in Mathura, after being arrested en route to Hathras during the movement for justice for Manisha Valmiki. He alleged that inmates are often given saline injections passed off as painkillers, and said it took 42 days and court intervention before he was moved to AIIMS for proper treatment, by which point he had suffered a paralytic episode. He said doctors in Lucknow later told him he had narrowly survived, having already been marked as deceased on discharge paperwork.
Activist Shyamveer argued that jails mirror the inequalities of wider society, describing a system in which well-connected inmates access resources and influence while ordinary prisoners face poor food and harsh punishment for raising complaints. He referenced the case of Noida workers detained amid labour disputes, criticised the conduct of federal investigative agencies, and called for accountability from officials over Singh's condition, recalling his documentary work on families affected by the Delhi riots.
Activist Hem Mishra placed the case within a broader pattern of activist detentions over the past decade and a half, pointing to the deaths in custody of Pandu Narote and Professor G.N. Saibaba as examples of what he called neglect amounting to harm. He said Singh's earlier documentary work covering migrant labourers during the pandemic and Delhi riot victims was central to the case against him, while affirming that hope for change persists among those still detained.
Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan said that despite India's constitutional framework, law enforcement agencies had increasingly been used to target trade union and human rights activists, leaving many without bail for extended periods. He called on courts to institute regular audits of prison conditions to safeguard inmates' constitutional rights, and said both the executive and judiciary bore responsibility for the situation.
Writer N Sachin invoked the poetry of Manoranjan Byapari to describe the tension of the moment, and referenced the deaths of Professor S.A.R. Geelani and Professor Saibaba, calling on citizens to advocate for Singh's release.
The press conference concluded with CASR demanding Singh's immediate bail on medical grounds, an end to what it called systemic denial of healthcare to prisoners, a rollback of laws such as the UAPA and NSA being used against activists and journalists, and disciplinary action against officials it holds responsible for Singh's condition.
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