Arrest of the activists of Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC) in Karimnagar district of the state is yet another sign of muzzling of democratic voices of protest and erosion of the democratic space. On 27th September 2012, leading activists of APCLC Chiluka Chandrasekar (gen secretary),V.Raghunath (Joirnt Sec), Mallareddy and Kumarswamy (President and Secretary of Karimnagar unit) Lingam and Narayanrao (Hederabad unit) Akbar and Gopi (Telangana Singareni rights organisation) were charged with false cases. These arrests came from the site of a protest meeting called by the Karimnagar unit of the APCLC against the state repression of movement demanding formation a new Telengana state. The activists have been charged under sections 153, 147 and 149 of the IPC dealing with inciting riot, rioting, and unlawful assembly etc.
It is an irony that Chief Ministers and self appointed champions of regional and communal interests openly inciting hatred between people on religious and regional lines are cajoled and protected in a democratic state. On the other hand, those questioning the indiscriminate and unconstitutional tendencies of the law enforcing agencies are detained and arrested. The Coordination for Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO) strongly condemns these arrests and sees this as a continuous process of unrelenting attack by the state on the organized efforts of people to demand formation of the Telengana state. The CDRO demands immediate release of the arrested activists and restoration of their right to organize, assemble and protest in pursuance of legitimate political demands.
Asish Gupta (PUDR) and Kranti Chaitanya (APCLC)
Co-ordinators, CDRO
Member Organizations: Association for Democratic Rights (AFDR, Punjab), Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (APCLC), Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR, West Bengal), Assansol Civil Rights Association (West Bengal), Bandi Mukti Committee (West Bengal), Campaign for Peace & Democracy (CPDM) Manipur, Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR, Mumbai), Coordination for Human Rights (COHR, Manipur), Human Rights Forum (HRF, Andhra), Lokshahi Hak Sangathana (LHS, Maharashtra), Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS, Assam), Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Organisation for Protection of Democratic Rights (OPDR, Andhra), Peoples Committee for Human Rights (PCHR), Jammu and Kashmir), Peoples Democratic Forum (PDF, Karnataka), Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Chhattisgarh, PUCL Jharkhand, PUCL Nagpur, PUCL Rajasthan, PUCL Tamilnadu, People’s Union For Democratic Rights (PUDR) Delhi, Peoples Union for Civil Rights (PUCR) Haryana.
