Top Odisha civil rights leader arrested, NAPM warns of "morcha" on March 11

By Our Representative
The National Alliance of Peoples’s Movements(NAPM), calling the arrest on Wednesday of Lingraj Azad, leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Parishad, by Odisha police illegal and deceitful, ha said, he "successfully fought the valiant struggle against Vedanta corporation along with Dongria Kondh."
"Initially it was reported that he has been arrested in an old case but just now we have learnt that sedition charges has also been slapped against him", NAPM said in a statement, adding, . Azad is "a fierce fighter for the rights of the adivasis." He is national vice president of the Samajwadi Jan Parishad and national convener of NAPM.
The top rights network said, "Arrests and attacks are not new to him in nearly three decades of his activism. He has faced physical attacks and harassment from the state for his struggle against the systemic oppression and corporate loot of the natural resources", warning, if he not released, it would plan a morcha in Bhubaneswar on March 11 and on the continued violations of rights in Niyamgiri hills.
The statement has been signed by Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andon; Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan; Dr Binayak Sen of the Peoples’ Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL); and Prafulla Samantara of the Lok Shakti Abhiyan, Odisha.

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