India. CASR Strongly Condemns the NIA tactics of intimidating and harassing activists

We hereby share a statement from the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) that we have received.

22 February 2025

CAMPAIGN AGAINST STATE REPRESSION STRONGLY CONDEMNS THE NIA TACTICS OF INTIMIDATING AND HARRASSING ACTIVISTS LIKE VINAY IN THE BOGUS ‘LUCKNOW CONSPIRACY CASE’

STOP WITCH HUNTING AND INTIMIDATION OF ACTIVISTS!!

WE DEMAND QUASHING OF BOGUS FIR NO. RC-01/2023/NIA/LUCKNOW INTENDED FOR THE WITCH HUNTING OF ACTIVISTS ACROSS NORTHERN STATE LIKE THE BHIMA KOREGAON CASE !!

NIA called political activist Vinay for interrogation in the Bogus Lucknow Conspiracy case. Vinay is a former student activist associated with the student organization Bhagat Singh Students Morcha, based in Banaras Hindu University(BHU) and also a former vice President of this organization. Now he is currently involved in all the public movements and programs of Varanasi as a political activist in Varanasi. Along with this, he also worked to teach children of the oppressed class. In this Lucknow Conspiracy case, around 30 activists based in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh houses were raided and questioned by NIA and 6 months before they arrested Chandigarh based Advocate and Anti Displacement activist, Ajay Kumar.

Targeting political activist, Vinay, is another step towards silencing every voice that dares to question oppressive policies being followed by the Indian State.That there is a concerted attempt to totally wipe out Bhagat Singh Students Morcha, a Revolutionary Student Organization, is borne out by the fact that for the last two years, members of BSM have been facing severe state repression. Multiple FIRs have been filed against its members, many of whom were suspended by the Administration following protests against the gang rape by 3 BJP IT Cell members in IIT BHU Campus. In September 2023, the BSM organization office was raided by NIA which further detained its President, Aakanksha Azad, for questioning. In another incident last year, on 25 December, after organizing a discussion on Manusmriti [Editor’s note: texts important for Hinduism] the BHU administration filed a complaint against 13 members of this organization who were arrested and sent to jail, with bail given only after 15 days in police custody. Its members were interrogated, and their mobile phones were illegally checked by ATS officers [Editor’s note: Anti-Terrorism Squad].

NIA, the Gestapo forces of the Brahminical Hindutva fascist RSS-BJP, has been cooking up the “Maoists’ NRB Revival case” or Lucknow Conspiracy Case in an attempt to arrest, threaten and silence dissent. This is a similar attempt to that of the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case, in which multiple pro-people activists from the working class, anti-displacement, peasant and cultural people’s movements across the country were falsely implicated and jailed. The same case which killed father Stan Swamy. We see the same pattern of conspiracy cases being repeated through these raids, searches and seizures and arrests of democratic, pro-people activists.

CASR demands an immediate end to the witch-hunt being carried out by NIA across the country in the name of Urban Naxals/OGWs [Editor’s note: Over Ground Workers]. We demand the quashing of the bogus Maoists NRB Revival case and an end to the harassment of activists in the case. We also urge progressive and democratic organizations to come together and raise their voice against NIA’s witch- hunting of activists.

CAMPAIGN AGAINST STATE REPRESSION

Organizing Team

(AIRSO, AISA, AISF, APCR, ASA, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, bsCEM, CEM, COLLECTIVE, CRPP, CSM CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telangana, Fraternity, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Janashakti, LAA, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Mazdoor Patrika, NAPM, NAZARIYA , Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajwadi Janparishad, Samajwadi Lok Manch, Bahujan Samjavadi Manch, SFI, United Peace Alliance, WSS,Y4S)