ABOUT ILLEGAL DETENTION OF AJAY T G

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Chhattisgarh PUCL!
This is specially written for three reasons:

The State Police & a section of Media in Chhattisgarh is deliberately indulging in “vilification” campaign and spreading “falsehoods” against Ajay T G (Member, State Executive Committee, Chhattisgarh PUCL). Remember, they had done the same immediately after the illegal detention of Dr. Binayak Sen, General Secretary, Chhattisgarh PUCL.

The Police briefings in the Police Control Room every evening during that particular period carried out a systematic campaign spreading falsehoods about Dr. Ilina Sen, Member, SEC, CG-PUCL (and wife of Dr. Binayak Sen), to the extent of providing insinuations that Dr. Ilina Sen herself was “neck-deep involved with the naxalites” and that “police had enough evidence to arrest her”, but they were “not doing so because they cared about the family”.

When Dr. Ilina Sen, filed an application for “Anticipatory Bail” in the District Judge, Raipur, the State filed an affidavit that they had no case whatsoever against Dr. Ilina Sen, and they did not want her in any matter. Thus, the application for anticipatory bail was not taken up.

The similar pattern is now being followed by the State Police with a section of the Media obliging them without any concern for the professional ethics of journalism. So much so that the “version” and “denials” issued by the PUCL are not published in a section of the Media.

2. The Media in Chhattisgarh (especially the capital city of Raipur) has taken a position that Mr. Ajay T G is a “fake media person” and that he has no credentials whatsoever as a “journalist” or “film-maker”. That the Media in Chhattisgarh hardly knows about Mr. Ajay T G. This is not the first time that a section of the Media has taken such a position with regard to some of the journalists/media persons who do not chose to toe the official/establishment line. Cases of police harassment of “media persons” is not highlighted or defended by the “mainstream media”(?), if I may be permitted to use this term for limited use of this letter!!

3. I strongly believe that a time has come when we must counter the “vilification” campaign and spreading of “falsehoods” both by the police and a section of the press. The PUCL is being “branded” and the BJP Government is, to a great extent, succeeding in managing media to serve their draconian designs (fascist agenda).

Well, the real story is about How the Police manages Media!

Let me give you a concrete example!

On 24th May, 2007, I was arrested by the Chhattisgarh Police in the evening when I was returning from a day-long Dharna protesting against the illegal detention of Dr. Binayak Sen, General Secretary, CG PUCL. The police conveniently used a warrant issued by the MP High Court at Jabalpur in a two years old case of Supreme Court ordering 7 days simple imprisonment in the Contempt of Court Case (related to my comments on the MP High Court judgment in the Shaheed Niyogi Murder Case, when it had acquitted all the accused in June 1998). Even the warrant was dated February 2007, but the Chhattisgarh police found it politically beneficial to serve the same on me almost three months later, while it was all this while lying on the table of the Superintendent of Police, Raipur.

When I was being taken from Raipur to Jabalpur (some 300 Kms away) by road in the night of 24th May, 2007, and the police officials escorting me had asked me to go to sleep in the back seat of a luxury car in which I was being taken to Jabalpur, I heard very interesting conversation being made on phone!

One of the police official was talking to some media person on his Mobile: Kya Heading Laga Rahe ho?Aare Sayal Saheb ke liye kya heading laga rahe ho? (What is the heading you are using? Oh! for Mr. Sail what heading are you selecting?)

He called about half-a-dozen newspapers around 10:00 pm, while I kept listening to this interesting conversation lying down in the back seat of the car.

The manner of authority and confidence with which this police official addressed these media persons (obviously the newspaper people), it was crystal clear that they were hand-in-glove with each other.

It is now a common knowledge that a section of the Media only publishes the “police version” in such cases where not only the human rights and social activists are being illegally detained but also targeted to corrode their credibility. PUCL is definitely on the BJP Government’s anvil!

Against the backdrop of these developments and facts, I am circulating two documents here related to Ajay T G.

1. Background information about his life and work. Please note that he has been associated with many prestigious and progressive organisations and committed to the cause of the fundamental rights of the poor and oppressed;

2. His letter to me detailing how he was being harassed by the police.

I APPEAL to all to mobilize support for Ajay T G, especially from amongst the Media Persons, Film Makers, Intellectuals, Politicians etc., and send protest letters demanding his immediate release. Please send your letters to:

1. H.E. Shri E S L Narsimhan, Governor, RAJ BHAWAN, RAIPUR - 492001:
Chhattisgarh : E-mail: governor.cg@nic.in

2. Shri Raman Singh, Chief Minister – Chhattisgarh, SACHIVALAYA, Dau Kalyan Bhawan, Raipur - 492001: Chhattisgarh : cmcg@nic.in
3. Shri Ramvichar Netam, Home Minister-Chhattisgarh: hmin.cg@nic.in

Please mark a copy to us also for follow-up!
This comes with good wishes,

In Solidarity,
Rajendra K Sail
President
PEOPLE’S UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES–CHHATTISGARH
Post Box No. 87, Main Post Office, Raipur – 492001: Chhattisgarh: India
E-mail: pucl.cg@gmail.com

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