Rally in city against NIA arrest of Jesuit priest on Saturday

An official the Committee, which works for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society, said it will be the first rally in West Bengal demanding immediate release of Father Stan Swamy. The 82-year old Jesuit priest, who is a Jharkhand- based tribal rights activist, was arrested on October 8 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon case and taken to Mumbai.

A rally will be taken out in the city by the Mother Teresa International Award Committee on Saturday in solidarity with the nationwide protest against the arrest of elderly tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy by the NIA. An official the Committee, which works for the welfare of the weaker sections of the society, said it will be the first rally in West Bengal demanding the immediate release of Father Stan Swamy.

The 82-year old Jesuit priest, who is a Jharkhand- based tribal rights activist, was arrested on October 8 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon case and taken to Mumbai. "In a secular, democratic country like India, the arrest of such a personality is nothing short of draconian," Father John Felix Raj, the Vice-Chancellor of St Xavier's University, who is associated with the Committee, told PTI.

Stan Swamy, he said, had been working for the uplift of tribals in Jharkhand and was against the exploitation of the natural resources of the state by the rich and powerful. "Also the slapping of charges against Stan Swamy and his incarceration violates the age-old traditions of showing respect to senior citizens. If the NIA wanted it could have put him under house arrest, instead of taking him to Mumbai and lodging him in jail not considering his advanced age," Father Felix Raj said.

The rally, which will adhere to all social distancing norms, will start from Bishop's House on Park Street and culminate at Mother Teresa's statue at the Archbishop's House, a little more than 2 km away. "Right-thinking people irrespective of their religious identities and political leanings will take part in it," he said.

"I myself will walk in the rally with all the health precautions," Father Felix Raj said adding similar protests will take place in other parts of the city on the same day. Rallies will be taken out on later dates as well till Stan Swamy is released, he added.

Father Stan Swamy was arrested by the central probe agency from his Ranchi home for his alleged involvement in inciting a mob to violence at Bhima Koregaon near Pune on January 1, 2018. He has been sent to judicial custody till October 23.

"Shocking and condemnable act on the 83-year-old priest who has spent all his life serving the poor," Swaraj India party president Yogendra Yadav said in a tweet.