#HumanRights Updates — #India: #Dalit rights activist held without charge

21.11.17

Human Rights Updates — India: Dalit rights activist held without charge: Chandrasekhar Azad was arrested on 8 June 2017 for allegedly being involved in rioting, inciting violence and destroying public property, among other offences, following clashes between protesting Dalits and dominant caste groups. The unrest followed the killing of two Dalit men and the burning of at least 50 Dalit homes in Shabbirpur village, Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, by men from a dominant caste in April and May 2017.

Chandrasekhar Azad remained in detention for over four months, before he and 14 other arrested Dalit activists were granted bail on 2 November by the Allahabad High Court. Newspaper reports quoted the court stating that the cases against Azad appeared to have been politically motivated. The next day, before he was released from custody, Chandrasekhar Azad was arrested again on the same grounds under the National Security Act (NSA), an administrative detention law.