Of 152 charged under UAPA, Telangana to withdraw cases against activist Haragopal, 5 others; Sudha Bhardwaj, 145 others still under scanner

A memo will be submitted to the court requesting the removal of their names from the case.

The police said that if no evidence is found against the remaining 146 activists, including Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira, their names will also be withdrawn from the case.

“It’s up to investigation; if there will be no incriminating evidence against them, there will be withdrawal of the case,” Gaush Alam told South First on Tuesday, 20 June.

On the inclusion of two deceased individuals, including a former Bombay High Court judge, in the FIR, the official stated that they are now aware of this, and those names will also be removed from the case.

On some civil rights activists saying the a UAPA case cannot be withdrawn merely with the filing of a discharge memo in the court and that a Government Order (GO) must be issued, the official said, “It does not require any GO. During investigation, if we get to know that these persons (accused) are not involved, we will be (approaching the court for) deleting names of those accused from the case.”

Why were the activists charged?

Back in August 2022, the Telangana police had filed UAPA cases against human rights advocate and retired University of Hyderabad (UoH) professor G Haragopal, Osmania University journalism professor Padmaja Shaw, and 150 others in the state.

Gaush Alam said that, apart from the six whose names are being dropped from the case, the police have identified some more people against whom no evidence has been found in the case.

He said the case was registered against all those whose names were mentioned in the Maoist literature seized during an operation in August last year.

Interestingly, none of the accused were aware of the charges against them filed at the Tadvai police station in Mulugu district.

They were accused of conspiring to “take over the power of the democratically-elected government at gunpoint”.

Following an uproar over UAPA provisions slapped against Haragopal and some others in August 2022, the state government recently directed the police to initiate the process for dropping their names from the case.

The combing operation

The Tadvai police had registered the case on August 19, 2022, after the police, during a combing operation of a meeting place of the outlawed CPI-Maoist party, seized several items, including party literature.

“All the seized items were duly documented in a Panchnama, witnessed by independent observers. The combing operation was carried out based on reliable information about an illegal assembly of CPI-Maoist members in Telangana led by Bade Chokka Rao, alias Damodar,” the police had said.

Based on the evidence collected at the scene and the complaint lodged by the Circle Inspector (CI) of Parsa police, an FIR was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), UAPA Act, and the Arms Act.

The FIR listed 152 accused, including prominent Maoist leaders, sympathisers, and other individuals whose names were mentioned in the Maoist literature recovered in the raid.

The combing operations in the forested areas of Tadvai mandal was an attempt to apprehend escaped Maoists. However, these efforts have thus far proved unsuccessful.

Revelation during a trial

Though the Tadvai police registered the case in August 2022, it came to light only on 15 June, when People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) president Chandramouli approached the LB Nagar court in the Rangareddy district.

Based on Chandramouli’s appeal, the court directed the officials concerned to furnish all FIRs filed against him. The police presented an FIR that named 152 individuals as accused under various sections, including the UAPA.

The 152 people were charged under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), 147 (rioting), and 148 (rioting with a deadly weapon) of Indian Penal Code, and Section 10 (membership in an unlawful association), 13 (unlawful activities), 18 (conspiracy), 20 (membership in a terrorist gang or a terrorist organisation), and 38 (support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA, and Section 25 (1-B)(a) (Possession of arms without a license) of the Arms Act.

The FIR

According to the FIR accessed by South First, the case was registered on a complaint by CI of Parsa police V Shankar. He reported receiving information about an illegal gathering of members from the CPI-Maoist in Telangana on 19 August, 2022.

The complaint stated that individuals such as Bade Chokka Rao, Kankanala Rajireddy, Koyada Sambaiah, Kursam Maggu, Madakam Sannal, Kunju Veeraiah, Kovasi Ganga, Muchaki Ungal, Jamuna, Roshan, and others, including groups and militia members, were scheduled to attend the meeting.

The inspector alleged that they were involved in various unlawful activities, including attacking government officials, damaging government property, recruiting tribal youth into the banned CPI-Maoist party, terrorising innocent people, and providing financial support to the party.

Acting on this information, Shankar and a team of police officers proceeded to Asannagudem, Ellapur, in Tadvai. They reportedly encountered armed individuals dressed in olive green uniforms, who were identified as members of the banned CPI-Maoist party.

The officers ordered them to surrender, but they escaped into the dense forest.

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The FIR mentioned that the literature described the active involvement of leaders and members from different public organisations.

The FIR stated that government officials and properties were targeted based on the directives of Central Committee Member Pulluri Prasad Rao, also known as Chandranna

Additionally, they allegedly recruited tribal youth into the CPI-Maoist party to terrorise innocent people and raise funds for the party.

“As per the agenda of the above-mentioned Maoist party, unknown leaders, army group members, militia group members and banned Maoist party working against the government to kill politicians and policemen, and take over the power of the democratically-elected government at gunpoint,” the FIR read.

‘The case itself should be withdrawn’

Referring to the move to drop the UAPA case against him, Prof Haragopal said the entire case should be withdrawn by dropping the charges against all persons.

He also urged parties and public representatives to come out with a promise to repeal the stringent legislation.

“All (who have been charged) are in the same case. The case is being removed against one person means the government has realised that either the case is wrong or some defect has happened. It applies to all. So, we demand that the case as a whole should be lifted,” he said.

Haragopal said a democratic and humane environment should be established in Telangana.

Observing that Telangana was born out of an agitation, he alleged that the BRS government behaved the same way as its predecessors in undivided Andhra Pradesh with regard to civil and democratic rights.

He also alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre has been misusing UAPA.

The Telangana government should promise that it will not invoke the UAPA in the state and that it will withdraw the cases filed earlier under the law, Haragopal said.

(With PTI inputs)