A special court of the National Investigation Agency on October 23 rejected the bail plea of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy a tribal rights activist arrested for his alleged involvement in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra.
The 83-year-old, who is under judicial custody, had sought bail on health grounds. He is now lodged in the quarantine ward at Taloja Jail, near Mumbai.
Father Swamy was picked up from his home in Ranchi, Jharkhand, on October 8 by a team of NIA officials from Delhi. His arrest had sparked an outrage across the country, evoking criticism from several circles. A court had sent him to judicial custody until on October 23.
“It (the NDA government) crossed all limits today when someone like Stan Swamy was arrested. He is someone who has been working in Jharkhand for years, in the remote faraway villages, wandering in the jun-gles, just so that the Adivasis, Dalits, and minority populations here could be reached,” Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had said.