The NCHRO condemns the NIA raids on activists in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

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On March 31, 2021, the National Investigation Agency raided the houses of around 25 activists in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Unsurprisingly, they alleged that the raids were conducted because the said activists had links with Maoists. The raids went on till the early midnight hours of April 1, 2021. The NIA also seized some documents and other stuff from the houses of the activists.Raghunath Verose, a high court advocate in Telangana and Vice President of the Civil Liberties Committee, V.S. Krishna of the Human Rights Forum, Varalakshmi and Arun of the Revolutionary Writers’ Association, are just some of the names of the 25 activists whose houses were raided.Devendra, Shilpa, Swapna, Rajeswari and Padma of the Chaitanya Mahila Sangam, Raghunath, Chilika Chandrashekhar and Chitti Babu of the Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee also had their houses raided by the NIA.

The raids happened after the NIA took over the investigation of the arrest of an alleged Maoist courier named Pangi Naganna.The activists whose houses were raided have all contributed to the fight against injustice on Adivasis in one way or another. That is why they are being targeted by the government in this way. Their only crime is that they’ve stood up to the violence that has been inflicted on Adivasis and on the weaker sections of the society.The National Confederation of Human Rights Organizations condemns these unjust, authoritarian, and intimidating tactics of the government. We hereby reiterate that these condemnable tactics will not silence us and stop us from raising our voices against injustices.

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