pc 10 agosto - India - continuano gli arresti di scrittori e intellettuali - dal Fronte Democratico Rivoluzionario

Appeal to the writers and democratic forces, 

for the immediate release of Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya.

Varavara Rao
President : Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF)

Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya aged 62 was abducted by Gujarat Police while he was arriving to Nagpur from Kolkata by Gitanjali express at 7.30 AM. I quote here the message sent by Prof. Soma Sen, Nagpur University “Thushar, my Husband was mysteriously arrested this morning by Gujarath Police I have been trying Thushar mobile from 6AM. But it was unreachable. At about 8.30AM, Senior Advocate Prakash Meghe informed me that Tushar called him to inform that he was arrested by Gujarat Police and at Nagpur airport. The police will take him by flight to Gujarat and may be produced him in the court tomorrow. …”

 Prakash Meghe, a senior lawyer informed that “Tushar was abducted by Gujarat police team between Gondia and Nagpur. They allegedly forced him to turn off his mobile phone, and after showing him a arrest warrant issued by a Surat court in connection with a 2010 case, whisked him away to Gujarat via Mumbai.
 Bhattacharya was earlier arrested by the Bihar police in September 2007 in Patna and later handed over to AP police in connection with a four-decade-old Maoist raid on landlords at the historic Tappalapur village, now located in Telangana. He was lodged at the Cherlapally Central Prison in Hyderabad. He was implicated in some concocted cases and spent six years in Warangal and Cherlapally Central Prisons and later acquitted in all the cases.
Tushar Bhattacharya was born and brought up in Kagaznagar as his father was an employee in Singareni Coal Mines. While he was a student at Advance Training Institute (ATI), Shivam Road, Hyderabad, he was attracted to Radical Student movement in early 70s itself.  Afterwards, he joined CPI (ML-COC) lead by Kondapally Sitaramaiah. He organized the peasant struggles in Adilabad district and later worked in Maharastra. In Bombay, he oragnised the trade unions and other mass movements.
 While in Kagaznagar, he was a student of two great Hindi poets, K. Venugopal and Tej Rajendra Singh in School and through them came into contact with M.T. Khan, who influenced him not only in politics, but Art and Literature. He is a prolific writer in Telugu and Hindi. He is proficient in his mother tongue Bengali and Marathi since he was long time political activist of Maharashtra.
 He had many ailments. He shifted to his wife’s place in Nagpur in 2013 and staying there pursuing freelance journalism, translations and literary writing.
 Gujarat police alleged that he had association with the activities in the tribal areas of Surat, Navsari and Dangs. Since Nagpur is the head Quarter of Vidharbha the drought stricken most backward area of this country with coal mines and tribals, he is seen by the State and the RSS headquarters as a pro-Dalit and pro-Adivasi activist which alone is sufficient to name anybody an extremist or a terrorist.
 He contributed short stories, poetry, memoirs to Srujana and Arunatara.
 I demand the release of Tushar Kanth Bhattacharya, a 40 year acquaintance and a friend forthwith without implicating him in any false cases.
 I appeal to the writers and democratic forces to raise their voice for release of Tushar Kanth Bhattacharya.
 Varavara Rao
President : Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF)