Restoration of Democratic Environment in West Bengal, India
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An appeal to release Social Activist Debashis Chakraborty
27 September 2005
To: Chief Minister, West Bengal, India
Mr. Debashis Chakraborty was arrested on 29 July 2005 from his office in Hakimpara, Siliguri, West Bengal u/s 121/121A/122/123/124A IPC against an FIR (139/04) of 18 May 2004 filed by O.C., Matigara P.S., District Darjeeling, West Bengal on charges of conspiring to wage war against democratically elected governments of West Bengal and the central government.
The FIR (139/04) includes a name of one Debashis Chakraborty with no address or name of father to recognise him. According to the FIR, on the night of 17.05.04 the Matigara O.C. raided the house of one Subhash Chakraborty and arrested 9 members of Maoist Communist Centre (India) (MCC (I)) and Peoples War Group (PWG). On interrogation, the 9 accused persons allegedly named a few leaders of MCC and PWG who were organising secret meetings in various places of North Bengal to spread their ideology. The list of leaders so mentioned included the name of one Debashis Chakraborty, a Central Committee member of MCC from Siliguri.
This FIR was lodged at a time when Debashis was in Bangalore working as a Business Development Manager for a Japanese multinational, Gestetner (India) Ltd. He has been posted in Bangalore by the same since March 2004. He resigned from his office in May 2005 on grounds of attending to family responsibility and started a business as agent of Gestetner (India) Ltd. as sales and services for Siliguri and the Northeast.
He has not been granted bail till date. The lower and the district courts on no definite ground have rejected six bail pleas till date. No evidence has yet been produced by the prosecution which points remotely to his involvement in any activity directly or indirectly aimed at unsettling the democratically elected governments at the state level or at the centre.
While the judicial machinery of the state as well as the police are convinced that granting bail to Debashis would have a bad impact upon the society, a large part of the civil society, the media, both print and the electronic, as well as political parties, including smaller left front allies as well as the opposition, seem to be thinking otherwise. A widespread dissent at the false implication of Debashis by the state has developed across the districts of North Bengal.
The spontaneity and spread of the protest at the arrest of an individual surely points at the fact that the civil society is certain that this person has been falsely implicated and that he has the right to a political opinion as long as that does not threaten the democratic structure of the nation. He is an ordinary member of the civil society who has been called in by the local as well as district authorities from time to time both as an individual as well as a member of Siliguri Welfare Organisation (a non-funded voluntary organisation involved in the health care sector, of which he had been the unanimously elected secretary for three consecutive terms) to be part of relief operations in flood and landslide ravaged districts of North Bengal. He was also a part of the team that volunteered at the Gaisal train tragedy. He was one of the few volunteers who had kept vigil at the Siliguri hospital and North Bengal Medical College at the time of the mysterious killer viral fever (when even the doctors and nurses had escaped from the town in fear of getting affected) that killed around 40 people in Siliguri alone in 1999. This is a man who has risked his life several times to facilitate the state machinery in exigencies.
Debashis is only an active social worker with no involvement in any conspiracy against the state. Large sections of the civil society from all walks of life have joined in the movement seeking his release. We feel that such arrests go against the basic democratic character of West Bengal.
Keeping Debashis past valuable contribution to the society in mind and the fact that he has a record of being a responsible member of the civil society we urge upon you to kindly take this case into consideration and seek for his immediate release from custody.
We, the signatories of this petition, call on the West Bengal Government for
Immediate and unconditional release of social activist Debashis Chakraborty
An end to victimisation of social workers in the name of democracy
Restoration of a democratic environment with due respect for human rights in the state of West Bengal
27 September 2005
To: Chief Minister, West Bengal, India
Mr. Debashis Chakraborty was arrested on 29 July 2005 from his office in Hakimpara, Siliguri, West Bengal u/s 121/121A/122/123/124A IPC against an FIR (139/04) of 18 May 2004 filed by O.C., Matigara P.S., District Darjeeling, West Bengal on charges of conspiring to wage war against democratically elected governments of West Bengal and the central government.
The FIR (139/04) includes a name of one Debashis Chakraborty with no address or name of father to recognise him. According to the FIR, on the night of 17.05.04 the Matigara O.C. raided the house of one Subhash Chakraborty and arrested 9 members of Maoist Communist Centre (India) (MCC (I)) and Peoples War Group (PWG). On interrogation, the 9 accused persons allegedly named a few leaders of MCC and PWG who were organising secret meetings in various places of North Bengal to spread their ideology. The list of leaders so mentioned included the name of one Debashis Chakraborty, a Central Committee member of MCC from Siliguri.
This FIR was lodged at a time when Debashis was in Bangalore working as a Business Development Manager for a Japanese multinational, Gestetner (India) Ltd. He has been posted in Bangalore by the same since March 2004. He resigned from his office in May 2005 on grounds of attending to family responsibility and started a business as agent of Gestetner (India) Ltd. as sales and services for Siliguri and the Northeast.
He has not been granted bail till date. The lower and the district courts on no definite ground have rejected six bail pleas till date. No evidence has yet been produced by the prosecution which points remotely to his involvement in any activity directly or indirectly aimed at unsettling the democratically elected governments at the state level or at the centre.
While the judicial machinery of the state as well as the police are convinced that granting bail to Debashis would have a bad impact upon the society, a large part of the civil society, the media, both print and the electronic, as well as political parties, including smaller left front allies as well as the opposition, seem to be thinking otherwise. A widespread dissent at the false implication of Debashis by the state has developed across the districts of North Bengal.
The spontaneity and spread of the protest at the arrest of an individual surely points at the fact that the civil society is certain that this person has been falsely implicated and that he has the right to a political opinion as long as that does not threaten the democratic structure of the nation. He is an ordinary member of the civil society who has been called in by the local as well as district authorities from time to time both as an individual as well as a member of Siliguri Welfare Organisation (a non-funded voluntary organisation involved in the health care sector, of which he had been the unanimously elected secretary for three consecutive terms) to be part of relief operations in flood and landslide ravaged districts of North Bengal. He was also a part of the team that volunteered at the Gaisal train tragedy. He was one of the few volunteers who had kept vigil at the Siliguri hospital and North Bengal Medical College at the time of the mysterious killer viral fever (when even the doctors and nurses had escaped from the town in fear of getting affected) that killed around 40 people in Siliguri alone in 1999. This is a man who has risked his life several times to facilitate the state machinery in exigencies.
Debashis is only an active social worker with no involvement in any conspiracy against the state. Large sections of the civil society from all walks of life have joined in the movement seeking his release. We feel that such arrests go against the basic democratic character of West Bengal.
Keeping Debashis past valuable contribution to the society in mind and the fact that he has a record of being a responsible member of the civil society we urge upon you to kindly take this case into consideration and seek for his immediate release from custody.
We, the signatories of this petition, call on the West Bengal Government for
Immediate and unconditional release of social activist Debashis Chakraborty
An end to victimisation of social workers in the name of democracy
Restoration of a democratic environment with due respect for human rights in the state of West Bengal
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