A People’s Hearing on Fabricated Cases has condemned the Indian state for falsely implicating activists in crimes so as to ‘shrink democratic space for dissent’. Tehelka magazine, whose own writers have been subjected to false charges, reports that the jury, made up of academics and concerned citizens, heard testimony from activists across the country before pronouncing its verdict in New Delhi in September.
The police have filed hundreds of groundless cases – ranging from sedition to attempted murder – against 1,400 activists. Many have spent time in prison – including one man charged for a crime committed while he was in custody. Abhay Sahoo was framed and spent 19 months in prison for leading a group protesting against a new steel plant in Paradip, which will displace 22,000 people. ‘False cases are a weapon in the hands of the state governments to demoralize activists and create an atmosphere of fear,’ he says.
