They demand independent probe by the National Human Rights Commission

A group of alumni, students, researchers, faculty and staff of IIT Kanpur have come out in support of Sudha Bharadwaj, an alumna of the institution, and other recently arrested activists, demanding their immediate release.

A statement by the group also demands an independent and impartial investigation by the National Human Rights Commission into the circumstances of their arrests.

The arrested activists were accused of having Maoist links weeks back.

“These arrests seem to be a mere sequel in an ongoing attempt to intimidate and arrest activists, eminent writers, professors, journalists, and human rights defenders around the country,” said their statement.

It praised the work of Ms. Bharadwaj as a social activist.

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“Sudha Bharadwaj has a public record of dedicating herself to the most marginalised through her work spanning more than thirty years. She finished her integrated bachelors and masters program of Dept of Mathematics, IIT Kanpur, in 1984. Already socially conscious as a student, by 1986 she had moved to Chhattisgarh working with a workers’ organization and trade union in the mining-industrial belt of central Chhattisgarh. It is here she found her calling as a trade unionist, and later, as a lawyer,” the statement said. “It is clear that she dedicated herself entirely to the most vulnerable and powerless, working through the rights and frameworks guaranteed in the Indian constitution.”

It added that the invoking of UAPA against Ms. Bharadwaj would “ensure long term incarceration and denial of bail,... a travesty of justice given her long record of legal and social work.”

“The charges against her appear to be totally concocted: the contradictory nature of the public statements issued by the prosecution suggests as much, as does even a cursory glance at the prime evidence in the form of a letter allegedly written by her,” the statement contended. “It is also very curious that the dubious letters are entirely unaccompanied by any further evidence and were first leaked to selective media outlets, and the prosecution seems to be more prepared for a 'media trial' than an actual one.”

It added that the case of the other arrested seemed to be similar.

Praising her work, the statement said, “In standing with the dispossessed and tirelessly bringing their issues within the ambit of the legal system, she has only strengthened the impulse of inclusive development that must be the bedrock of any modern democracy. It is no coincidence then, that a large number of public intellectuals, bureaucrats, academics, and members of the general public have come out in her support. To their voices we add ours, as members of an institution where this distinguished alumna spent her early years.”