NIA flies Swamy to Mumbai, court sends him to 2-week judical custody

Ranchi: A day after taking Stan Swamy into custody, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) flew the 83-year-old social activist to Mumbai on Friday morning and presented him before NIA special court, which sent him to judicial custody until October 23. Swamy is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case with seven others. NIA also issued a supplementary chargesheet accusing him of offences under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
It’s a three-page press release detailing the points from 10,000-page chargesheet, NIA said Swamy is an active member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). “He was in communication with other CPI (Maoist) cadres. He propagated among cadres that the arrest of urban CPI (Maoist) members from different parts of country, particularly in Maharashtra, has caused huge irrevocable damage to the outfit.”
The statement added, “He received funds from other Maoist cadres for furtherance of Maoist activities. He is the convener of PPSC, a frontal organization of CPI (Maoist). The incriminating documents related to communications for furthering the activities of Maoists and propaganda material as well as literature were seized from his possession. It has been established that the members of CPI (Maoist) were using these organizations to further their agenda.”
In Ranchi, various sections of the society, including the Roman Catholic Church, Left parties and human rights group, criticised Swamy’s arrest. A protest march was organised at Albert Ekka Chowk by rights group under the banner of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha. Reminding chief minister Hemant Soren about his stand over the issue when he was the leader of opposition and asked him to pressure the the Centre for his release.
The activists also released a video clip of Swamy categorically denying the allegations levelled against him. “Apart from my biodata and some factual information, several extracts allegedly taken from my computer implicating my connection to Maoist forces were placed before me. I told them all these are fabrications stealthily put into my computer and I disowned them,” Stan said in another written statement.
Stan in his statement clarified he was always available for the investigating authorities and was not willing to go to Mumbai because of his ill health, age and the prevailing pandemic. He said, “The nature of the present NIA investigation against me has nothing to do with the Bhima Koregaon case, in which I have been booked as a ‘suspected-accused’ and raided twice (August 28, 2018, and June 12, 2019). It has everything to do to somehow establish that I am personally linked to extremist Leftist forces. I deny these allegations in the strongest terms. After six weeks of silence, I am being summoned to appear at the NIA office in Mumbai.”
Noted economist Jean Dreze, who participated in the protest, said Swamy is a valued and public-spirited citizen who has worked for adivasi rights for decades. “The inhuman and insincere act of the NIA stands out for its sheer vindictiveness. Stan fully cooperated with the investigating officers when they questioned him at his residence in Bagaicha for over 15 hours (on July 27-30 and August 6),” he said.
The Church also expressed anguish and concern over the way Swamy is being treated. The Catholic Church of Ranchi, in a statement jointly signed by Auxiliary bishop of Ranchi Theodre Mascarenhans and secretary of CRI Sr Poonam Soreng, said: “While the NIA is within its right to investigate all accusations against any citizen, we are shocked at the way Father Stan has been treated. Considering his age and his health condition, was it necessary to come for him in darkness? Was it necessary to make him travel to Mumbai given that even healthy young people are afraid to travel during this pandemic.”