NEW DELHI: All three MPs from Meghalaya, cutting across party lines, have urged Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to personally intervene and secure the immediately release of 83-year-old Jesuit priest Fr. Stan Swamy, who has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on allegation of links with banned Maoists.
In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha members Vincent H Pala and Agatha Sangma, and Rajya Sabha member Dr WR Khalukhi said that Swamy is suffering from various age-related illnesses, including Parkinson’s Disease and needs regular medical attention. “Given his age, his health condition, his reputation as a prominent Christian leader and reputed social activist, may we please take the liberty of requesting your office to consider releasing him from detention,” they said.
In spite of his advanced age and health conditions, he had cooperated with the investigating agencies and has provided detailed statements in July and August this year, they pointed out.
On Thursday night, NIA arrested the Jesuit priest in a case related to Bhima-Koregaon incident of 2018 when violence had erupted during a celebratory gathering to mark 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra in which a Dalit-dominated British army had defeated a Peshwa army.
“Many Christians amongst our community are being framed in cases where they are actually not involved, and the best example is Fr. Stan who would continue to cooperate with the investigating agencies,” the MPs wrote.
“Therefore, we humbly urge your good self to personally see that Christians are not unnecessarily targeted and to release Fr. Stan as soon as possible,” they added.
The Mumbai court, where Swamy was produced after arrested, directed him to be sent to judicial custody till October 23.
The NIA had arrested the priest from his residence near Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi on Thursday. Swamy alleged that fake evidence had been planted in his computer before he was arrested by the NIA.
Swamy, known for fighting for tribal rights, was part of Jharkhand Organisation against Uranium Radiation (JOAR), a campaign run against Uranium Corporation India Limited in 1996. He has been working for welfare and rights of displaced people of Bokaro, Santhal Parganas and Koderma.
But the NIA suspects that Swamy was a member of CPI (Maoist) and was actively involved in the activities of the banned outfit. Incidentally, he is the convener of Persecuted Prisoners’ Solidarity Committee (PPSC), a ‘frontal’ organisation of CPI (Maoist).
In a statement released just before he was arrested, Swamy said, “The nature of the present NIA investigation of me has nothing to do about Bhima-Koregaon case in which I have been booked as a ‘suspected-accused’ and consequently raided twice (August 28, 2018, and June 12, 2019). But it had everything to do to somehow establish that I am personally linked to extremist leftist forces.”