On Thursday, October 8, the National Investigation Agency arrested 82-year-old human rights activist Father Stan Swamy in distant Jharkhand in connection with the violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune in January 2018.
Father Swamy was arrested for alleged links with the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist, the NIA alleged.
The octogenarian is the 16th person to be arrested in the mysterious case in which well-known intellectuals and Leftist actvists have been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Last month, the NIA arrested three members of the Kabir Kala Manch, which the agency described as a frontal outfit for the banned CPI (Maoist).
The case was first registered in Pune by the then Devendra Fadnavis government ikn Maharashtra.
Just as the Uddhav Thackeray government began probing the motive behind Fadnavis's decision, the case was swiftly transferred to the NIA by the Narendra Damodardas Modi government.
The mystery of the NIA's constantly enlarging investigation into the violence that occurred at Bhima Koregaon -- when thousands of Dalits gathered there to commemorate the bicentenary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, where the Mahars serving the East India Company's army defeated the Peshwa's army -- has never been intelligently explained.
Dominic Xavier is puzzled by the NIA's campaign against Leftist activists and intellectuals and wonders if we will ever get to know the truth behind all these arrests.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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