India – CASR Strongly Condemns the NIA Notice to the Activist Rohit
We hereby share a press statement issued by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) on August 17.
CASR STRONGLY CONDEMNS THE NIA NOTICE TO FORMER BHU STUDENT ACTIVIST AND ANTI-DISPLACEMENT ACTIVIST ROHIT
STOP THE WITCH-HUNT OF ACTIVISTS! QUASH THE LUCKNOW CONSPIRACY CASE!
The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) strongly condemns the issuance of a notice by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to Rohit, a former student activist of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and an anti-displacement activist who has worked among Adivasi communities and peasants in the Kaimur region of Bihar.
The NIA notice comes shortly after Rohit secured bail in multiple cases filed against him by the Bihar Police and the NIA, after spending nearly three years in undertrial incarceration. The renewed targeting of Rohit demonstrates the continuing use of investigative agencies to harass and intimidate activists who work among marginalised communities and participate in struggles against displacement and dispossession.
FROM STUDENT ACTIVISM TO THE STRUGGLE AGAINST DISPLACEMENT
Rohit was involved in student activism during his years at Banaras Hindu University. During his university years, he also worked for the rights of handloom weavers in Varanasi. After completing his education, he continued working among handloom workers for several years before moving to the Kaimur region of Bihar.
Since 2019, Rohit has worked among Adivasi peasants in the Kaimur Plateau, supporting their struggle to secure rights over their ancestral land and livelihoods. The communities he worked with faced the threat of displacement in connection with plans for an eco-city in the Kaimur region.
Rather than addressing the legitimate concerns of these communities, the state has repeatedly criminalised those who stand alongside them.
THREE YEARS OF UNDERTRIAL INCARCERATION
In 2023, Rohit was arrested under the UAPA and faced multiple cases filed by the Bihar Police and the NIA. He remained incarcerated as an undertrial for nearly three years and was recently released after securing bail in all the cases.
Yet, instead of being allowed to rebuild his life after years of incarceration, Rohit has once again been placed under investigation through a fresh NIA notice in connection with the Lucknow Conspiracy Case.
CASR strongly condemns the use of repeated investigations, summons, and notices as instruments of continuing harassment and intimidation of activists.
THE LUCKNOW CONSPIRACY CASE: A BROAD CRACKDOWN ON ACTIVISTS
The targeting of Rohit cannot be viewed in isolation. The Lucknow Conspiracy Case (RC-01/2023/NIA/Lucknow) has already been used to arrest and incarcerate activists from diverse backgrounds, including anti-displacement activist Ajay Kumar, documentary filmmaker and activist Vishal Singh, and student and labour rights activist Priyanshu Kashyap.
Ajay Kumar, an anti-displacement activist, has been targeted in connection with the same case for his work among communities resisting displacement and defending their land and livelihoods. His targeting reflects the expanding scope of the case against activists involved in people’s movements.
Vishal Singh, a documentary filmmaker and activist, was arrested by the NIA in connection with the Lucknow Conspiracy Case. His work documenting social realities, communal violence, and the lives and struggles of working people has also been met with state repression.
Priyanshu Kashyap, a former student of the Department of History at the University of Delhi and a labour rights activist associated with the Delhi General Mazdoor Front (DGMF), was arrested in connection with the same case. He has spent a year in incarceration. His activism among workers, students, and oppressed communities demonstrates how the case has been extended to target labour and student activists.
The targeting of Rohit, who has worked among Adivasi peasants and against displacement in the Kaimur region, further demonstrates the wide-ranging character of this prosecution.
From student and labour movements to documentary filmmaking, anti-displacement struggles, and Adivasi land rights, the Lucknow Conspiracy Case is increasingly being used to criminalise diverse forms of democratic organising.
CRIMINALISING THOSE WHO DEFEND JAL, JUNGLE, JAMEEN
The cases against Rohit, Ajay Kumar, Vishal Singh, Priyanshu Kashyap and others must also be understood within the broader pattern of repression against movements defending Jal, Jungle, Jameen.
Across India, Indigenous and Adivasi communities resisting displacement, mining, extractive projects, and the appropriation of natural resources have faced police repression, criminal cases, surveillance, arrests, and prolonged incarceration.
Activists who stand alongside these communities are increasingly portrayed as security threats rather than recognised as defenders of people’s rights. The targeting of Rohit sends a chilling message to anyone who chooses to stand with communities fighting to protect their ancestral land, livelihood, and dignity.
ANOTHER BHIMA KOREGAON-TYPE CONSPIRACY?
The expanding list of people being targeted under the Lucknow Conspiracy Case raises serious concerns about the use of a broad conspiracy narrative to criminalise political and social activism.
CASR strongly opposes the attempt to portray legitimate work among workers, students, peasants, Adivasis, displaced communities, and other marginalised sections as evidence of criminal conspiracy.
CASR DEMANDS
1. Immediately withdraw the NIA notice issued to Rohit.
2. Stop the continuing harassment, surveillance, and intimidation of Rohit and other democratic activists.
3. Release Ajay Kumar, Vishal Singh, Priyanshu Kashyap, and all other activists incarcerated in connection with the Lucknow Conspiracy Case.
4. Quash FIR No. RC-01/2023/NIA/Lucknow and end the misuse of the case to criminalise democratic dissent.
5. Repeal the UAPA and other draconian laws being used to suppress democratic movements.
CASR stands in solidarity with Rohit, Ajay Kumar, Vishal Singh, Priyanshu Kashyap, their families, and all those facing repression under the Lucknow Conspiracy Case.
We call upon democratic rights organisations, student organisations, trade unions, farmers’ movements, Adivasi and people’s organisations, lawyers, journalists, civil liberties groups, writers, artists, and all concerned citizens to oppose the continuing witch-hunt of activists.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST STATE REPRESSION (CASR)
Organising Team:
(AIRSO, APCR, ASA, BASF, BSM, Bhim Army, bsCEM, CEM, COLLECTIVE, CRPP, CSM, CTF, DISSC, DSU, DTF, Forum Against Repression Telangana, Fraternity Movement, IAPL, Innocence Network, Karnataka Janashakti, LAA, Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan, Mazdoor Patrika, NAPM, Nazariya Magazine, Nishant Natya Manch, Nowruz, NTUI, People’s Watch, Rihai Manch, Samajwadi Janparishad, Samajwadi Lok Manch, Bahujan Samajwadi Manch, United Peace Alliance, WSS, Y4S)
