Top human rights organisation, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has taken strong exception to the arrest of Dalit activist Laxman Naik and doctor and human rights supporter Dr. Randall Sequeira, who were detained in Odisha’s Bhawanipatna on October 16 for their alleged involvement in protests against Vedanta Ltd.’s proposed bauxite mining project in the Sijimali hills.
In a press release, PUCL demanded their immediate release and an end to what it described as the criminalisation of a peaceful, constitutionally protected movement opposing the mining project in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.
Naik is associated with the Ma Mati Mali Suraksha Manch, a people’s movement defending the Tijmali, Kutrumali and Khandualmali hills against bauxite mining. He has played a key role in mobilising Adivasi communities against the project and the proposed acquisition of their land. Sequeira, a doctor who has worked among Adivasi communities in the region, has supported their struggle and is associated with Medico Friend Circle and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan.
According to PUCL, police personnel arrived at Sequeira’s residence in Bhawanipatna in two jeeps at around 10.45 pm on October 16. Several officers were reportedly dressed in civilian clothes. The police allegedly seized the phones of Sequeira and Naik, who was present at the residence, and took them to the Town Police Station.
Their whereabouts remained unknown to their lawyers, families and friends from 6 am on October 17 until 6.30 pm, the organisation alleged. They were subsequently produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate in Rayagada and remanded to 15 days of judicial custody.
PUCL said neither activist was informed of the grounds for arrest, either in writing or verbally, nor allowed to consult a lawyer at the time of detention. It alleged that the arrests violated Article 22(1) of the Constitution, which safeguards the right of arrested persons to be informed of the grounds of arrest and to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of their choice.
The organisation also cited Supreme Court judgments, including D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, Pankaj Bansal v. Union of India and Prabir Purkayastha v. State (NCT of Delhi), in support of its contention that established legal safeguards had been violated.
The two were arrested in connection with Case No. 85, registered against 26 named and more than 100 unnamed persons over incidents reported on April 6 and 7, 2026. Neither Sequeira nor Naik is named in the first information report (FIR), PUCL said.
The case relates to a police operation in Kantamal, a village affected by the mining project. According to PUCL, between 200 and 300 police personnel raided the village during the early hours of April 7, using tear gas and lathis against residents. More than 50 people were injured, the organisation alleged.
PUCL said three FIRs were subsequently registered against villagers who had been protesting peacefully, accusing them of offences including rioting, attempted murder, unlawful assembly and violations of the Arms Act. The organisation described the charges as false and alleged that they formed part of a broader pattern of repression against those opposing the project.
The proposed mining project has faced sustained opposition from Adivasi communities since the Odisha government granted Vedanta Ltd. a 50-year mining lease in February 2023. The lease covers an area of 1,549 hectares across Rayagada and Kalahandi districts.
Protesters have alleged that the lease was granted without following due process and without securing the free, prior and informed consent of affected communities, as required under applicable provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA).
In April 2024, PUCL, the Campaign for Survival and Dignity, the Campaign against Fabricated Cases and Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression jointly published a report alleging that Gram Sabha resolutions had been falsified or obtained through coercion in connection with the project.
The dispute intensified in January 2026, when a 12-foot-wide road was cut through forest land leading to Kurkuti Mauja, a 42-acre forest area in Kalahandi district. Villagers, particularly those from Kantamal, began protesting against the road construction.
On March 18, bulldozers and heavy machinery arrived to level the land. According to PUCL, the local tehsildar informed villagers that Kurkuti Mauja would be developed as a resettlement colony for families displaced by the Tijmali mine. The announcement reportedly alerted residents to the prospect of losing their homes.
The organisation said villagers had since intensified their protests, insisting that mining should not proceed without the consent of the Gram Sabhas of all affected villages. It alleged that peaceful demonstrations were met with police lathi-charges on April 1 and 2, followed by announcements of prohibitory orders on April 3.
PUCL further alleged that villages had been surrounded by police personnel and employees of Mythri Infrastructure Ltd., a Vedanta subcontractor. It also raised concerns over drone surveillance and the continued deployment of police and Rapid Action Force personnel, alongside the establishment of additional Central Reserve Police Force camps in Kantamal and Bondel villages since September 2026.
The organisation attributed the escalation in policing and arrests to a wider pattern of state repression against Adivasi and Dalit communities opposing the mining project. It said activists from movements such as Ma Mati Mali Suraksha Manch and Khandualmali Suraksha Samiti had faced repeated arrests and criminal cases since 2023.
Among those allegedly targeted are Kartik Naik, Subhasing Majhi, Gobind Majhi, Gobind Naik, Lai Majhi, Umakant Naik and Sanu Majhi, along with Adivasi movement leaders Lingaraj Azad and Lado Sikaka. PUCL said several activists had been repeatedly arrested on serious, non-bailable charges, including attempted murder, rioting and voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
The organisation also raised allegations of custodial torture, caste-based and racist abuse, threats against detainees who considered filing complaints before magistrates, and attempts by men in civilian clothes to abduct village leaders. It said prohibitory orders and notices under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita had been issued against members of the Ma Mati Mali Suraksha Manch since June 2025.PUCL further alleged that police had pressured lawyers representing villagers to reach a compromise with the company and withdraw cases, warning that their clients could otherwise face lengthy jail terms. It also said notices had been issued to prevent the observance of occasions such as World Environment Day, World Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Birsa Munda Jayanti, on the alleged grounds that villagers were gathering with weapons.
The organisation said the security presence and fear of arbitrary arrest had restricted villagers’ movement, making it difficult for them to obtain medicines and pursue their daily livelihoods.
PUCL has called for the immediate release of Sequeira, Naik, Lado Sikaka, Lingaraj Azad and other Adivasi and Dalit leaders jailed for opposing the project. It has also demanded the withdrawal of what it described as fabricated cases against villagers and activists, compensation for alleged illegal arrests and detention, and accountability for police officials accused of abuse.
The organisation has sought an investigation into allegations of custodial torture and casteist abuse, including the invocation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act wherever applicable. It has also demanded the registration of FIRs over allegations of forged signatures and fabricated Gram Sabha proceedings, along with an inquiry directed by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Other demands include halting land acquisition, the creation of land banks, road construction and other work connected with the Sijimali project and Kurkuti Mauja until the Gram Sabhas of all affected villages can decide freely, without intimidation. PUCL has called for a review of the mining lease and forest clearance process, withdrawal of heavy police and Rapid Action Force deployments, and an end to the alleged misuse of prohibitory orders and preventive arrests.
It has also urged the authorities to ensure that lawyers, medical professionals and human rights defenders working in the region can carry out their responsibilities without harassment or pressure.
PUCL president Kavita Srivastava and general secretary V. Suresh reiterated the organisation’s solidarity with the Adivasi and Dalit communities of Rayagada and Kalahandi, saying their right to land, forests and a dignified life must be protected.
Comments