India: CRPP-WB – An Earnest Appeal to All Our Friends and Well-wishers

We hereby share a call published by the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (West Bengal) [CRPP-WB].

As you all know, the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) is sincerely dedicated to ensuring the rights of political prisoners in India.

In many instances, our role as a democratic rights organisation does not limit itself to only campaign, advocacy, and legal aid for the release of political prisoners. Since the state is always apathetic about the issue of rehabilitation of political prisoners after their acquittal or after obtaining bail, we also consider it our ethical duty to provide rehabilitation to political prisoners as per our capacity. Relative to that, another major issue that demands immediate and long-term attention after acquittal or bail is the issue of medical treatment. We regularly witness that political prisoners develop severe health conditions due to maltreatment and torture inflicted upon them by prison authorities or their existing health conditions worsen (and even turn fatal in many cases) during their incarceration period because of prolonged deprivation from proper medical treatment. Hence, taking care of the health-related requirements of political prisoners also falls under the list of duties.

At present, given our limited resources, CRPP would like to appeal to all our friends, well-wishers, and all democratic individuals to extend help (both financial and logistical) for the rehabilitation and medical treatment of three particular individuals:

1. Chandan Debnath (Bappa), a former political prisoner (acquitted), was incarcerated in Jharkhand and is a resident of Konnagar, Hooghly district, West Bengal. He is currently suffering from a brain tumor and immediately requires surgery and aid for post-operative care.

2. Sukumar Mondal, an under-trial political prisoner in the RC-01/2012/NIA/DLI case, is currently out on bail and suffers from serious cardiac and pulmonary diseases. He is a resident of Khardah, North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal.

3. Sambhu Charan Pal, an under-trial prisoner in the same RC-01/2012/NIA/DLI case as Sukumar Mondal, is a resident of Diara, Hooghly district, West Bengal. He is also an aged and ailing individual with no proper social and financial support to sustain his life post-bail.