Detention of Dr Binayak Sen

A group of former bureaucrats, academicians, lawyers and social activists visited Chhattisgarh during January 18-22 in connection with the prolonged incarceration of Dr Binayak Sen. The team met the governor and director general of police and also met Dr Binayak Sen in the central prison at Raipur. Some members of the group also visited areas in the districts of Bastar, Dantewada and Bijapur.

In the light of the information gathered, the team is of the opinion that the charges filed against Dr Sen under the IPC, CrPC and the Chhattisgarh Public Safety Act (CPSA) are unwarranted and unconstitutional. The CPSA enables the government to interpret the rendering of simple humanitarian acts as unlawful. The Act defines “unlawful activity” so broadly that every act of vigilant citizenship can be construed as unlawful and anti-national. Thus it is clear that Dr Sen is being targeted in his capacity as general secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Chhattisgarh. The reports produced by the PUCL have highlighted the anti-constitutional violence legitimised by the state through the Salwa Judum campaign.