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Dr Sen being brought to his house during a police search
chhattisgarh: human rights
A Doctored Case
The apex court joins in the myopia that's keeping Dr Sen in jail
Doctor Or Naxalite?
  • The state alleges he's only a "namesake" doctor. The CMC, Vellore, of which he's an alumnus, gave him the Paul Harrison award for his work.
  • The police claim he was the courier for top Naxal leaders lodged in Raipur jail but never took action against jail authorities for failing to detect these alleged messages
  • A police press release called him an "absconder", though he called up the police on his own and courted arrest
  • Since he has been addressed as "Comrade" in letters to him from suspected Naxalites, it's taken as proof of his being a member of the banned CPI (Maoist).
  • Government also claims there is "incriminating evidence" on Dr Sen's computer but the Andhra Pradesh forensic lab report says no such thing

***

It couldn't have been more ironic. The Supreme Court chose, even though by accident, the date designated as World Human Rights Day, December 10, to turn down the bail plea of noted rights campaigner Dr Binayak Sen. In many ways,

Dr Sen's role as an activist and his services to marginalised communities proved to be his undoing. At the end of the day, after hearing pleas from Dr Sen's counsel, noted constitutional expert Rajiv Dhawan, and the government of Chhattisgarh, the apex court did not find any merit in granting him bail. The doctor, who was arrested on May 14, 2007, and charged under the Unlawful Activities Act and the draconian Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act, will continue to languish in custody.

What is the basis of the Chhattisgarh police's case against Dr Sen? The chargesheet against him says he is a Naxalite sympathiser. This conclusion was reached after his name came up when the police recovered three letters from suspected Maoist Piyush Guha, arrested at the Raipur railway station. These were written to Guha by another alleged Maoist, Narayan Sanyal, presently lodged in Raipur Jail. The police claim Guha, under custodial interrogation, confessed that Dr Sen acted as courier.

Dr Sen did meet Sanyal in jail on several occasions. But each time it was with due permission from the jail superintendent and a body search before and after his meetings. And even if we were to accept that Dr Sen smuggled the letters out, what exactly was "incriminating" in them? One letter deals with farmer-related issues, the letter writer's health and so on. In another note, Sanyal is discussing issues relating to his case and the approach his lawyer has taken in court. In yet another, he complains of there being "no magazines" to read in jail and terrible conditions in prison. Activist-lawyers like Prashant Bhushan see the framing of Dr Sen on such flimsy evidence as "a message that clearly states that people must shut their eyes to violations of human rights of the marginalised or risk arrest".

Why and when did Dr Sen become the target of the Chhattisgarh government and police? Many say his sharp criticism of Salwa Judum, the controversial government-backed 'movement' against Naxals, his raising of issues of ill-treatment of suspects picked up by the police, of the pathetic conditions in jail and his criticism of the state government vis-a-vis human rights irked senior police officials. "The intelligence branch of the state police was already upset with Dr Sen raising these issues and they also found some support from their central counterparts in the Intelligence Bureau," a senior government official told Outlook.

In framing its case against Dr Sen, the Chhattisgarh police has relied heavily on the "confessional" statements made under interrogation by Guha. This, despite it being repeatedly pointed out in various courts that custodial "confessions" are inadmissible as evidence in court. Guha has also stated before a magistrate that he was tortured for several days under illegal detention and made to sign blank papers.

However, there is more that investigators hold up as "incriminating evidence" pointing to Dr Sen's "deep" Naxalite connections. Among them:
  • A postcard written by Sanyal to Dr Sen with the approval of the jail superintendent. This, according to the Chhattisgarh police, "prima facie proves the deep association the petitioner has with the Naxalite leader". Conveniently ignored is the fact that the jail superintendent himself has written letters to Dr Sen regarding Sanyal's case!
  • Another postcard to Dr Sen from Madan Barkade, an alleged Naxalite leader lodged in Raipur jail. Unbelievable as it may seem, the state government contends on affidavit that since Barkade has referred to the doctor as "Comrade" in the postcard, it is proof enough that the latter is "a member of the banned CPI (Maoist)."
  • A press release issued by Dr Sen on the horrible conditions in jails and the plight of prisoners and undertrials. This is held as further proof that he has "espoused the cause of Naxals".
  • Dr Sen's visits to Raipur Jail to meet Sanyal. Though much is made of them, each visit was duly applied for and recorded in the jail manual. As the Chhattisgarh government refused to bring these records to court, it was left to Dr Sen's lawyers to source the documents invoking the RTI act. What the government counsel also did not bring on record was a letter dated September 6, 2006, from the DIG Police which clearly states that "this office (of the DIG) has no objection" to Dr Sen visiting Sanyal in jail. A copy of this letter was also sent to Addl DGP in charge of intelligence.
  • A computer seized from Dr Sen's house. The state government counsel claimed it had evidence against him. But the report of the Andhra Pradesh Forensic Sciences Laboratory dated June 16, 2007, does not corroborate this.
The unkindest cut comes in the second paragraph of the preliminary objections filed by the state government to the bail plea. It states that Dr Sen "is a namesake doctor." Reason: during the search of his house the police did not find any "medical books, medicines, drugs etc". It is another matter that Dr Sen has a medical degree from the reputed Christian Medical College, Vellore. He is also one of the founders of the Shaheed Hospital near Bilaspur and was a member of the Jawaharlal Nehru University's faculty on community health. In 2004, he received the Paul Harrison award for his work in public health in rural areas.

Despite these gaping holes in their submissions, the Chhattisgarh government has managed to keep Dr Sen in jail indefinitely, raising serious civil liberty issues. "His arrest and efforts to keep him in jail are a major symbol of a contradiction today," says Dr Imrana Qadeer, professor of community health and social medicine at JNU, Delhi. "The health minister (Dr Anbumani Ramadoss) wants students to go to rural areas but who will go to villages to serve the poor and the marginalised after Dr Sen's case?" she asks.

Dr Sen's counsel Dhawan says that he is shocked at how the "government counsel misled the court" and described the denial of bail as a "serious attack on civil libertarians and human rights". For many like Prashant Bhushan, the arrest of Dr Sen and his continuing incarceration is the symbol of a "creeping fascism within the establishment".

People may be shocked by the flimsy grounds Dr Sen has been arrested under, and justifiably feel that his legacy in taking healthcare to the poorest of the poor may be in great peril, but the state government thinks human rights and public health are now the gravest threats to people's safety.
Filed In:
Authors: Saikat Datta
People: Binayak Sen
Tags: Maoists/Naxals|Prisons & Prisoners
Section: National
Places: Chhattisgarh
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Daily MailPublished
COLLAPSE COMMENTS :
HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 17, 2007 12:00 AM
1
Courts have always assisted facism. Spineless characters calling themselves judges, bootlick the ruling class. That is the history. Courts during Hitler´s regime ..... courts during emergency in India ......... courts in Mayanmar .... Courts in Malaysia .... all are support systems of facist regimes. Police submits bull shit to court the same is accepted as evidence and digested by the courts to subjugate freedom fighters or those who differ with the system. Days are not far off when the judges will be tried in people´s court and punished accrdingly.
Saraswathi
Zurich, Switzerland
Dec 17, 2007 12:00 AM
2
Those who are real terrorists, members and leaders of Hurriat, Lone, Gilani, Mufti Mahmood, and several members of the National Conference, are in power, can get Crores of loan which they do not have to pay back, can go abroad to pakistan and Saudi Arabia to propagate against India, get King's treatment when in jail, but the same Government of India always killes or tortured to death the "so-called Naxals", theor crime is to to talk on behalf of the poorest of India.

Dipak Bose
Calcutta, India
Dec 17, 2007 12:00 AM
3
Indian judges are accountable to no one - not even to themselves!

Courts in India have assisted police 'planted evidence', rapes, third degree torture confessions and the like. They are also susceptible to caste, religion and money. Will Courts take a 180 degree turn and punish the police who are responsible? Maybe, in the very long term, when India becomes a real super power.

Sens case, like Afzals, is a sad reflection on the present state of the Indian judiciary.

Parthasarathy B
Chennai, India
Dec 18, 2007 12:00 AM
4
Parthasarathy,
Indian judiciary is corrupt from top to bottom. Judges are appointed after good amount of bribes paid to politicians. At times judges and politicians are forced to pretend to be with the people. They are partners in loot. We cannot expect justice from this judicial system. Those who are sincere and want to serve the society (like Dr. Sen) will be targetted and persecuted, that´s the purpose of Indian judicial system.

Legislature, executive and judiciary are now working in tandem to teach a lesson to the poor people of India. They are acting like occupation force. Time is not far off when people see thru their game and decisively defeat the forces of evil. Election in India is an apology. Only persons with huge money bag can even think of contesting in the elections. Crores & crores of rupees are spent by contesting candidates but the election commission feigns ignorance. More than half the number of MPs are criminals and the rest crooks.

So much for Indian democracy. If you do not call the present Indian system democratic you will be labled as Naxals and persecuted. One set of law for Naxals & poor and another set of laws for the rich.
Saraswathi
Zurich, Switzerland
Dec 18, 2007 12:00 AM
5
Good decision by the courts. Its time to go after the Naxals, even those with a high profile social cover.
B Bhattacharyya
Morrisville, USA
Dec 18, 2007 12:00 AM
6
SARAWATHI: Days are not far off when the judges will be tried in people´s court and punished accrdingly.

SARASWATHI: It is obvious what kinds of courts you are talking about, the kind run by the MCC/CPI(Maoist), where noses of tribals deemed "class enemies" were chopped off as punishment. This Maoist sympathizer is getting much better treatment in Indian courts than an Indian would receive in Maoist kangaroo courts.
B Bhattacharyya
Morrisville, USA
Dec 18, 2007 12:00 AM
7
Chief Justice of Chattisgarh was a judge in UP High Court. He and his wife have taken bribes from UP's land mafias and from the Reliance Corporation. But the Chief Justice of Supreme Court took no action against this judge.
Those who are the worse students in India study law as a last resort. They copy in the law examinations to pass; this is open knowledge. If they can practice for ten years in a High court as advocate, and if they have proper connection, they can be selected as a High Court Judge. After that they can be promoted to the Supreme Court.
One should not expect justice from these people, they are just as corrupt as any police officer or civil officer.
A lot of bandits pose as Naxals. During the days of S.S.Roy's Congress rule in West Bengal during 1970-77, the government used to recruit criminals from the slums, who in return used to claim that they are Naxals and they used to set fire to the schools , libraries and kill important people to justify the mass murder of 4000 people in West Bengal by S.S.Roy.
There was no investigation who had airlifted massive amount of weapons to a forest in the border between West Bengal and Jharkand and the main culprit was allowed to escape to Denmark after his arrest in the Bombay airport.
Thus, the whole business of Naxalism can very well be in some cases manufactured by the government for some other design.
The government that allows dreadful Muslim terrorists to have luxury life at the costs of tax payers is now putting social workers in jail. That is exactly the case.

Dipak Bose
Calcutta, India
Dec 19, 2007 12:00 AM
8
I think that there is no point now to stay in India and try to reform this country.

When a part of the body becomes cancerous then we can surgically remove that part, but what if the cancer has spread affect entire body ??

I think the best way is to settle in countries like UK, Australia, New Zealand etc. wherein you can at least expect a certain amount of justice & fair play.

If a person has political connection - then only it is reasonably safe to stay in India - else you have to remain at the mercy of corrupt government, judiciary and administration.
ReignOfTruth
Mumbai, India
Dec 20, 2007 12:00 AM
9
Good decision by the courts. Its time to go after the Naxals, even those with a high profile social cover.>>>>
B BHATTACHARYYA, Morons like you support, sustain & encourage the corrupt. You seem to be IQ challenged.

When I said people´s court, certainly did not mean hotch-potch courts by Naxals. Will you ever learn to speak for yourself rather than apply your single digit IQ logic to my statement?

No wonder fools like you support corrupt to the core judges, cops & politicians. By the way all judges & cops are not corrupt. I dare not say the same about politicians.


Saraswathi
Zurich, Switzerland
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
10
Comrade Saraswathi, Relax. You might pop a vessel or something.

"In framing its case against Dr Sen, the Chhattisgarh police has relied heavily on the "confessional" statements made under interrogation by Guha. This, despite it being repeatedly pointed out in various courts that custodial "confessions" are inadmissible as evidence in court."

Saikat Sen is hiding something. What exactly did Guha confess?

"
People may be shocked by the flimsy grounds Dr Sen has been arrested under"

Not all people are shocked, there is a strong reason to suspect that Binayak Sen is a Naxal sympathizer.

" and justifiably feel that his legacy in taking healthcare to the poorest of the poor may be in great peril, but the state government thinks human rights and public health are now the gravest threats to people's safety."

Straight out of CPI(Maoist) booklet.
B Bhattacharyya
Morrisville, USA
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
11
Question is - Who are naxalites? What they want? Here is the answer. Anyone who raises voice against injustice and exploitation are branded as naxalites.
One thing is clear. The strong arm tactics of police and judges do not prevent naxalites to scale back their operation.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh rightly acknowledged, that naxalites control 1/3 of the country. And the influence is rising every day.
Soon cities will not remain immune and the dream of urbon middle will go down the drain.
Rajesh
Phoenix, United States
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
12
>> They are a clear and present danger to India

You got it right here. And they are unstopable. Unless the ruling class of the country mend their ways.
No pragmatic person believe that police force has ability to contain them. Most casualty in police force happened when they were in drunken state.

>> They are china's proxies in India.

Wrong. China's proxies are Karat & Co. Naxalites are mostly drawn from grassroot and their struggle is against the landed class. Certainly they don't bother to read Marx or Mao.

>> They do not believe in Indian democracy and Indian civilization

Wrong again. It is police and judges who don't believe in democracy and Indian constitution.

Indian civilization?? It has different meaning to different people. For Brahmins it is brahmanic values and upper caste supramacy. For rest it is Buddhist past and glory of Mughal empire.
Rajesh
Phoenix, United States
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
13
DEAR RAJESH
What aren you doing in Capitalist America ?Commrades need you here to blast Railway Tracks,kill defenceless innocents .
Please come soon.
a k ghai
mumbai, India
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
14
" Naxalites are mostly drawn from grassroot and their struggle is against the landed class."

Yeah commies like Kanu Sanyal, Vinod Pande, Dipankar Bhattacharyya and Neogi came up from the grassroots.

The leaders are always from the upper/middle classes.

B Bhattacharyya
Morrisville, USA
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
15
In matters like this the president should step in and the police must be punished for manipulating the law.
Nirmalan Dhas
colombo, sri lanka
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
16
Dr. Gupta, nobody chants Gandhian mumbo-jumbo these days except Sonia Gandhi, that too only at the UNO. There is a very thin line distinguishing the Maoists and the CPI(M)cadres. So thin, in fact, that it is practically non-existent. JNU is indeed a Commie Lab and Prachanda of Nepal is a living example of this CPM-Naxal indivisibility.
Coming to the article, Saikat Dutta is infantile in her advocacy of Dr. Sen's non-Naxalite status. Being a Vellore college alumnus or a JNU faculty, according to her makes him ineligible to join the ranks of the Naxal terrorists! The fact of his being a JNU faculty alone is sufficient to strengthen suspicion, nay confirmation of his being a dyed-in-the-wool naxalite.
B.V.SHENOY
BANGALORE, India
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
17
ROT:>>"I think the best way is to settle in countries like UK, Australia,"

Surprised why you are not choosing saudi arabia; you have yourself said it is the only country where islamic shariat is fully practiced in its pure form.

If they build a lot of sky-scraper buildings all over saudi arabia, with oil money, as in malaysia, all good moslems of the world can go and settle there; they can visit mecca for haj each year, regularly, with minimum travel distance and expense.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
18
@Sheshadri
".....Surprised why you are not choosing saudi arabia; you have yourself said it is the only country where islamic shariat is fully practiced in its pure form. ........."

Actually my suggestion about settling abroad was for indians in general. Would you like to settle in Saudi ??
ReignOfTruth
Mumbai, India
Dec 21, 2007 12:00 AM
19
Dr Gupta has the point. It is time accept the reality. Police and upper class just cannot win. Every anti-naxal campaign produces more naxals.

Only solution is to address their grievances.

In the name of development and SEZs, the poor, mostly tribals, are driven out of their land without compensation. Industrialists are going to make tons of money out of the their land, then why can't they compensate? I can't understand. If Narmada is so viable that it is going provide water to millions in Gujarat then why can't a few hundred displaced be compensated? Posco in Orissa is going to bring largest foreign investment in the country, then what is the problem in compensating a few thousand displaced people?

Probably the state is following sacred Hindu law that tribals and other Shudras are prohibited from owning property. Any form of compensation is against their religion.
Rajesh
Phoenix, United States
Dec 22, 2007 12:00 AM
20
In my view, mao = moslems all over, naxalite = nabhi-action-elite are essentially antinational movements driven by the finances and guidance of ISI [international sword of islam]. Leadership rests with moslem-votebank politicians like sita-ram yechury, who is known to be close to Nepal's prachanda. He is allowed scottfree to preach against india's nuclear-energy deal [to deny India freedom from islamic oil/gas, like France has already achieved]. Instead, some social-server type hindu doctor is arrested, for 'showing' anti-mao action by govt!.
Finance from pak/SA, leadersship from leftists, additional funds from extortionists, mostly hindus, to cover up the moslem leadership, volunteers, trainees, mostly madarsa moslems, this is naxalism in India.

Instead of taking over all naxal-affected districts under army control to set things right quickly, the PM is requesting action by CMs thro the sleepy HM, hobnobbing with the churchians.

MMSingh can be renamed as the 'prime requestor' of the country, not prime minister. Shame on sonia for having brought India to this state. She and her progeny will pay a heavy price for this.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Dec 22, 2007 12:00 AM
21
Seshadri,

>> In my view, mao = moslems all over, naxalite = nabhi-action-elite...

This is childish!
Ghulam Y Faruki
New York, United States
Dec 22, 2007 12:00 AM
22
Gulam:>>"This is childish"

But, child is the father of man! The perceptions of a childlike mind sees thro' the convulsions created by the grown-ups.
v.seshadri
chennai, india
Dec 22, 2007 12:00 AM
23
ROT:>>"Actually my suggestion about settling abroad was for indians in general. Would you like to settle in Saudi ?? "

Glad to know you are talking as indian and not just moslem. I am happy to be india, despite its shortcomings, which I am sure of setting right with my prayer-powers.

bhaaratee-iyam divya-maataa moksha-saamraajya-daayinee. There is a spiritual divinity associated with sub-himalayan bhaarat-maataa, which helps souls to seek and achieve spiritual immortality; because the sun's rays contain both prabha=light, heat and vibhaa=spirituality. Former absorbed by the snows of himalaya, latter reflected south to the indian subcontinent, for spiritual benefits of the people working for spiritual progress, with vegetarian and non-cruel ways of life..
v.seshadri
chennai, india
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