Nitin Varghese, a 28-year-old rights activist, was arrested by Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur Police on August 28, Monday, triggering outrage among tribal groups and civil society.
Adivasi Members of Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan, a group campaigning for Forest Rights and protesting against state connivance in the massive deforestation, staged a protest in Burhanpur against the arrest of Varghese on Wednesday, August 30 outside the Lal Bagh Police station.
They said the arrest was “an attack on their non-violent struggle for legal and constitutional rights” and demanded his immediate release.
For the last 5 years, Varghese, who has roots in Kerala and was brought up in Bhopal has been associated with JADS and has been campaigning for Forest Rights and protesting against state connivance in the massive deforestation in the Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
The police have charged him with section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and others of the Indian Penal Code and accused him of “inciting the Adivasis” protesting against the massive deforestation in Burhanpur district and “attacking forest personnel.”
The organisation has been facing continuous attacks by the Madhya Pradesh government over the past few years. Madhuri, president of JADS, told Maktoob, “Nitin has been implicated in a false case”.
She said, “Since the JADS publicly objected to the administration’s involvement in significant deforestation in the region, its activists have been consistently subjected to police and administrative scrutiny and prosecution.”
Madhuri said that other activists were also arrested and falsely implicated in numerous cases in the recent past including Antram Awase and Dilip Sisodia, who are incarcerated. Madhuri herself was restricted from entering the district for a year in 2022.
Burhanpur district has been a hotspot of atrocities against Adivasis, where the forest department has routinely picked up, illegally detained and beaten people over the years.
On March 02, a dispute with forest department members resulted in the arrest of 35 Adivasis from Guarkheda (Baladi) village. Nitin’s name was also included despite his absence during the incident.
Additionally, four adivasis were forcefully taken by forest personnel including two women from Guarkheda (Baladi Panchayat), from their residences and no traces of them were found for some time.
Madhuri explained, “The villagers informed Nitin about the incident and he reached out to the District Forest Officer (DFO) and the District Collector in Burhanpur. He called the officers to ensure that proper legal procedures were followed and that those who were detained should not be subjected to any violence.”
She said, “The arrested villagers were physically tortured in custody and many witnessed the victims being beaten up. Adivasis mobilized and clashed with the officials in an attempt to free the detained Adivasis.”
“But later, Nitin was made co-accused in the same case. Though he just called the authorities and was not even present at the spot,” she added.
She further said that Nitin was summoned by the police to record his statement and he had gone to Lalbagh Police Station twice in March. But both times the police had put it off on different pretexts.
The arrested activist Varghese is suffering from a medical condition called Lupus, in medical terms an inflammatory disease caused when the immune system attacks its tissues.
Two months ago, he lost his sister to the same disease and he himself was bedridden a year ago.
Varghese has graduated from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and has been constantly working to strengthen awareness for legal forest rights through JADS.
“The government which violates Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act (PESA), Forests Rights Act (FRA) and other constitutional rights incarcerate Adivasis and activists who speak for Adivasis and other marginalised people to ease the loot of corporates,” Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek, a journalist covering human rights of marginalised communities, told Maktoob.
“Nitin who has been with JADS for 5 years suffers from Lupus (An inflammatory disease caused when the immune system attacks its own tissues). The same disease also took his sister’s life two months ago. Nitin was bedridden a year ago and his health is in a bad state. The incarceration and the behaviour towards political prisoners and conditions in jail can deteriorate his health,” Rejaz wrote in a Facebook post.
Maktoob tried to contact Rahul Lodha, Superintendent of Police, Burhanpur Police to learn about the incident and was informed that he had been transferred recently. The newly appointed SP didn’t respond to the multiple calls made by Maktoob.
