Stan Swamy’s plea for sipper deferred
MUMBAI: Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old tribal rights activist arrested for his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case, will have to wait a few more days for a straw and a sipper cup he needs as a Parkinson’s patient.
Responding to Swamy’s request for these items before a special court here on Thursday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said it did not take the straw and sipper from Swamy during his arrest, as claimed by the activist.
Following the central agency’s response, the special court rejected Swamy’s application. Swamy then moved a fresh application seeking permission to use a straw and a sipper and winter clothes inside the jail. The court sought a reply from the jail authorities and adjourned the matter till December 4.
Eighty-three-year-old Swamy, a Jesuit priest, was arrested on October 8 from his home in Ranchi for his alleged role in inciting mob violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune in Maharashtra on January 1, 2018.
He was remanded in judicial custody and has been lodged in Taloja jail since then.
In early November, Swamy’s lawyer Sharif Shaikh had filed an application for giving direction to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to supply a straw and a sipper which were taken from him at the time of his arrest. The NIA special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty on Thursday told the court that they don’t have any of Swamy’s things with them.
Following this, the defense lawyers moved an application seeking direction to the prison authorities to provide Swamy with the same at a cost. The defense has pleaded that he has been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and needs a straw as well as slippers for daily use.
Swamy is known for fighting for tribals rights in the state of Jharkhand and was part of the Jharkhand Organisation against Uranium Radiation (JOAR), a campaign run against Uranium Corporation India Limited in 1996. He has been working for welfare and rights of displaced people of Bokaro, Santhal Parganas and Koderma.