May 19, 2016
This page will document the status of
political prisoners in various states, with updates as and when we
receive them. Please send updates to communications@sanhati.com
July 24 2016
Maoist political prisoner Anup Roy
filed a case in Calcutta High Court against imposition of illegal
restrictions on visitors at jails in West Bengal. The case is
expected to be heard any day. Advocate Debopriya Mukhopadhyay is the
advocate-on-record in the case.
It may be recalled that Mamata
Government issued an administrative order sometime back imposing
various illegal restrictions on meeting political prisoners at jails.
Accordingly, except nearest family members, no one is allowed to meet
the prisoners. This is against the jail code where friends are
allowed to meet. Since time immemorial human rights activists used to
meet the prisoners as friends. Now Mamata Government stopped this.
So prisoners are suffering from
tremendous seclusion. It is these rights activists of various
organisations who year after year took care of the distant prisoners
as their family lives far from the jails. Many had no family in real
terms. For example Venkatshwar Reddy & Ramakrishnan _ two
prominent Maoist political prisoners in this state are from Andhra
Pradesh. Chatradhar Mahato of Lalgarh is in Alipur and Kolkata’s
Prosun Chatterjee is in Jalpaiguri jail. So who can take care of
their problems, their cases, except rights workers! Now this stoppage
of visiting them landed the prisoners in serious problems.
So Anup Roy’s case is a very
important case . It will have serious repercussions on prisoners
life, their trial and release.
***********************
July 24 2016
Kobad Ghandy on Hunger Strike in Tihar
Jail
Kobad Ghandy commenced a hunger strike
on 15th July, 2014 in protest against the prison authorities sudden
arbitrary decision to shift him from Jail no. 1 to Jail no. 2 of
Tihar Prison. He was forcibly shifted on a stretcher, while he
continued to be on hunger strike, on the evening of 16th July, 2014.
Democratic Rights activists have registered their protest against the
harassment of this senior citizen political prisoner, who is also
suffering from a number of ailments, and have appealed to the
Director General of Prisons, Delhi, Vimla Mehra, to ensure that he
his not denied his legitimate rights.
***********************
July 19 2016
After 6/7/8 years of rotting in West
Bengal jails all of them got acquittal from court of law. Gour
Chakraborty, Himadri Sen Roy (Somen), Chandi Sarkar – and many more
political activists. They all lost their valuable years of life in
jail without doing any crime. Yet none of the courts ordered any
compensation for their lost years. Serious effort should be taken to
file suit for compensation. Should we not think over demanding
punishment for the authorities who brought false charges against the
acquitted persons. These are necessary to stop filing false cases
too.
Three instances are there in recent
cases. In the first Kerala High Court ordered rupees one lac
compensation for a young man who were falsely implicated as a Maoist
activist. A well-known political activist of Maharashtra, Arun
Perera, writer of Colours of Cage, filed for compensation after
getting acquittal from Court. The most discussed case in this regard
is the Akshardham Temple case where 6 Muslim youths got acquittal
from Supreme Court. Three of them were ordered to be hanged till
death and three were lifers. After 10/11 years of pathetic living in
jails they were acquitted by Supreme Court of India. All these six
youths filed compensation suit. But their demand has been rejected
first by Gujrat High Court and then by Supreme Court. Supreme court
said, it would create a dangerous precedent. In course of arguments,
it was observed that conviction rate in India is more or less 45%.
That means 55% of the prisoners got acquittal and should be
compensated for wrong confinement.
So a serious and long battle has to be
fought to get compensation as well as punishment for the false
accusers. Yet the battle has started and in West Bengal we should
also file suits for compensation and punishment for implicating in
false cases. Let all of us ponder over this and take some concrete
steps in right direction. Time is ripe for the move.
West Bengal
July 13 2016
The political prisoner status of Gour
Chakraborty was retained. Finding no merit, the SC today disposed of
state’s appeal against SS Ahluwalia judgement.
***********************
Maharashtra
May 4 2016
Political prisoner Angela Sontakke was
granted bail by Supreme Court today 4th May 2016 after 5 years.
Angela, who was arrested on 25th April 2011 and has been lodged in
the Byculla (Mumbai) Women’s Prison for the last five Years was
today granted bail by a Supreme Court Bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi
and Justice Prafulla C. Pant in the UAPA case applied on her by ATS,
Maharashtra. Congratulations to the legal team of Kamini Jaiswal, Sr.
Adv., Gautam Bhatia, Adv. and Shumaila Altaf, Adv.
Bail Applications of Political
Prisoners Sagar Gorkhe, Sachin Mali and Ramesh Gaichor, which had
been clubbed with Angela’s application, were not decided by the
Bench today. They have been posted for July 2016.
Sagar, Sachin and Ramesh, who are
accused in the same UAPA case with Angela, have been in jail for 3
years.
West Bengal
Gour Chakraborty
May 19 2016
Great injustice has been caused to
Maoist political prisoner Gour Chakraborty (78) lodged in a West
Bengal jail since 2009. He got bail on all cases against him except
one at Bankshall Court, Kolkata.
Hearing of that case was also finished
ages ago. The judge declared date to give her verdict. Everybody was
ready and curious to hear the verdict as it was the first UAPA case
in the state. It was much before the election date was declared. But
much water flowed through the Ganga after that. The day of verdict
never came.
The judge announced date after date
through months to pronounce the verdict. But finally she left
Bankshall Court without giving the verdict on Gour Chakraborty’s
case, whose hearing was completed. She left as she has been
transferred to some other court. Now, a new judge has taken charge of
the case and said she has to hear the case afresh. Two dates have
passed. She heard the case afresh. A third date has been fixed. No
one can say how many dates she will take to give the judgement.
A deep sense of frustration now
pervades all the political prisoners including Gour Chakraborty.
Arnab Dam (Bikram)
On May 14, starting from 6 am, Maoist
political prisoner Arnab Dam (Bikram) has gone on a hunger strike in
Presidency Jail. Arnab had petitioned the jail authority to learn
computers while in prison. He was turned down, despite the fact that
regular prisoners are trained in computers in jail. The jail
authority is unwilling to follow the directives of the Medinipur
Court in this case. Arnab is demanding that like other prisoners, he
too has to be given the opportunity of learning computers.
Chhatradhar Mahato and others
May 9, 2016
May 9, 2016
Kolkata High Court has refused to give
back Political Prisoner status to CHATRADHAR MAHATO & others.
Earlier, Kolkata High Court had granted them Political Prisoner
status when they were under-trial prisoners. Now they are refused on
the ground that their status has been changed to “Convict” and
respective law has been changed by Mamata Banerjee Government.
One year has passed since Chatradhar
Mahato & five other popular activists Raja, Prasun, Sukhsanti &
Sambhu were convicted with life imprisonment by a trial court of
Medinipur. It was decided by all mass organisations & activists
jointly to fight the case at High Court. Accordingly an appeal
petition has been filed in Kolkata High Court within stipulated date.
The court accepted the appeal & asked the government to file
affidavit in opposition. Subsequently bail petitions were also filed
for all the convicts.
That’s all.
Not a single hearing has happened yet.
Reason? Not known.
In the meantime Chatradhar, Raja,
Prasun, Sukhsanti & Sambhu Soren have completed one year of their
life term as convicts and seven years of jail in total. Their
political prisoner status has also been snatched. No ray of hope in
sight. Kolkata High Court will soon be closed for summer vacation.
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