DIMAPUR, APRIL 16 (MExN): The Manab Adhikar Sangram Society (MASS) today expressed dismay at the Supreme Court’s decision to allow for the detention of civil rights activist Gautam Navalakha and Anand Teltumbe after August 14, 2020.
A press release from the MASS Chief Advisor, Bubumoni Goswami said that both have been implicated in the Bhima Korgoan case of 2018, where many Dalit activists were hurt in rioting.
“The subsequent arrest of the civil rights activist is testimony to the dubious processes that were followed in order to implicate persons fighting for social justice in the Indian subcontinent,” it alleged.
“Both Navalakha and Teltumbe have assisted the fight for human rights for the people of northeast India including Assam. They have consistently opposed state violence and are part of the campaign against the draconian laws like Armed forces (special powers)Act ,1958,” it added.
It further alleged that the charges against them are “examples of government’s high handedness.”
“It is no coincidence that they have been charged under provision of the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act that is increasingly being used to silence dissent in India,” the MASS added.
It further stated that the “unjust and unwarranted arrest of Akhil Gogoi and other activists of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS)in Assam are further evidence of the kind of dangerous expansion of authoritarianism in the subcontinent.”
Pointing out how elderly people with pre-existing conditions are more vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus, the MASS stated that the two activists “have to remain in their homes until the legal processes finds its logical end.”
It demanded that the order to arrest the two civil rights activist be rescinded at this time. “We are confident that due legal process will show that the cases against them are absurd and part of a political vendetta,” it stated.
