life
PTI
Rights activist Binayak Sen, Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata businessman Piyush Guha were on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Raipur court for colluding with Maoists.
Additional District and Sessions Judge B.P. Verma held the trio guilty under provisions of section 124 IPC (sedition), 120 B IPC (conspiracy) and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act.
The 58-year-old Dr. Sen, a paediatrician by training, had been accused by the prosecution of carrying messages and letters from Sanyal to the underground Maoists. Guha was also found involved in helping the Maoists establish a network.
Dr. Sen, a PUCL activist, was arrested on May 14, 2007 from Bilaspur. He was present in the court along with Sanyal and Guha.
Reacting to the conviction of Dr. Sen, his wife Elina Sen said, “What happens now is we take whatever legal recourse is available to us. We will not be able to do it immediately because higher courts are on vacation.”
Terming the verdict as “completely irrational”, she said, “It is not a judgement that I would agree with.”
Ms. Elina, who was present in the court during the trial, claimed, “Not a single piece of evidence came up to support this kind of conviction - sedition and conspiracy against the state. I hope justice will prevail.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article974280.ece?homepage=true
Binayak Sen's conviction shocking, say activists
Human rights activists Friday reacted with shock at rights campaigner Binayak Sen being held guilty of sedition and conspiracy by a Chhattisgarh court, with many saying that there was “no evidence” against him.
“I am absolutely shocked at the judgement. We never expected this judgement because there was not a shred of evidence against him. This is a sad day for our Indian democracy,” Mahipal Singh, secretary of the People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL), of which Mr. Sen is vice president, told IANS.
“How can a human rights activist be held guilty on false charges by the prosecution,” he asked.
Raipur District and Sessions Court judge B.P. Varma Friday found Mr. Sen guilty on a variety of counts and also under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act.
Mr. Sen was arrested in 2007 from Bilaspur for alleged links with Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal but was released in May 2009 at the behest of the Supreme Court.
PUCL general secretary Kavita Srivastava added: “This is a shocking judgment. But he will get justice. We will fight for him.”
A very upset Harish Dhawan, an activist, said: “This is the worst possible kind of justice ever. It’s shocking. There is no evidence against him. He has been held just because he has opposed the Salwa Judum (movement) and even the Supreme Court has said so.”
“We have come to a real low in Indian democracy today,” he added.
Salwa Judum is a Chhattisgarh sponsored counter-insurgency and anti-Maoist people’s movement
Mahipal Singh said PUCL would await the detailed judgement before deciding on the future legal course of action.
“We have just got the summary of the judgment, so it will take some time for us to decide the legal course of action. We will also plan a mass movement for justice for Binayak Sen,” he said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article974301.ece
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