False Case Slapped Against Debaranjan Sarangi
By Concerned Citizens
24 August, 2015
Countercurrents.org
False case slapped against Mr. Debaranjan Sarangi, a human rights activist and a member of
Ganatrantik Adhikar Surakshya Sangathan, Odisha, by the police of Malkanagiri District
It has come to our notice that the Malkangiri police have registered a case against Sri
Debaranjan Sarangi, an active member of Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakyaa Sangathan (GASS) Odisha on 9th
August 2015 on the basis of an alleged complaint of a woman. According to the police notice served to
Sri Sarangi, the allegations against him are under Section 294/341/323/354/354‐B/506(ii) of IPC (related
to molestation of a woman). Knowing Sri Debaranjan and his activities as a social activist for so many
years and a preliminary appraisal of the circumstances leading to the registration of this particular case
against him, we have reasons to believe that it is a motivated and fabricated case by the police against
him. Apart from registering the case, we have been informed that Sri Sarangi has been harassed and
intimidated by the Malkangiri police and other security forces during his visit to the area. We condemn
such motivated action of the Malkangiri police and highhandedness of the security forces. We also
strongly object to using a woman by the police to falsely implicate Sri Debaranjan on charges of
molestation, intimidation etc. without having any respect for her dignity. This, in our view, is utter
misuse of laws by the Malkanagiri police.
It needs to be noted that for the last several years, Sri Debaranjan has been associated with various
human rights organisations and has been part of many fact finding teams. In that context, he has visited
many areas of South Odisha and reported on many incidents of police atrocities on Adivasis and Dalits.
He has also been regularly writing on these issues in various newspapers, magazines and the social
media. Besides, Sri Debaranjan is also known as a documentary film maker. One of his documentary
films, ‘At the Crossroads’ is about the sufferings of Adivasi people in south Odisha and how they are
being affected by the state violence, on one hand, and the Maoist violence, on the other. One of the
recent fact findings by GASS team, in which Sri Debaranjan was a member, has exposed the killing by the
BSF, of Sri Ganga Kirsani, an Adivasi farmer of Koraput district. This matter has been agitated before the
State Human Rights Commission which is still pending before it. The official enquiry report submitted to
the Commission has now established that Sri Kirsani was innocent and not a Maoist.
Sri Debaranjan was in Malkangiri this month (8th and 9th August) for the shooting of a documentary on
the land and agriculture issues affecting the Adivasis. It was during this visit that the security forces
came to the place where he was staying and harassed him. They enquired about his activities and that
of the GASS and asked him to come to the police station. Sri Debaranjan refused to go since they
couldn’t explain why he should go. A team of security forces even followed him to the villages where he
went to for shooting. Next day, two women police personnel came in the evening and again asked him
to come to the police station. They too didn’t show any written document to that effect when asked by
Sri Debaranjan. Sri Debaranjan refused to go to the PS and subsequently left Malkangiri. The same
night police raided the place where he was staying and picked up his cameraman. The cameraman was
detained in the police station for more than 24 hours. It needs to be noted that Sri Debaranjan doesn’t
even know the woman on whose alleged FIR the case has been registered against him, nor has there
been any dispute with any woman.
Considering all these, we have reasons to believe that the case is motivated and malicious. It is clear that
the real intention is to prevent Sri Debaranjan and GASS from doing the works they have been doing.
We are concerned that by way of registerering such false cases, the state is now trying a new strategy to
silence the voices of dissent, particularly that of the human rights defenders and organisations.
While condemning the action of the Malkangiri police we call upon the Odisha government to desist
from such cheap and intimidating tactics to silence the voices of human rights defenders.
Dr. Golak Bihari Nath, Working President, Ganatanrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan (GASS)
Mo- 9861407135
Biswapriya Kanungo, Advocate and Human Right Activist, Mo- 9861392021
Pramodini Pradhan, Convenor, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Mo - 9439200989
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We condemn in the strongest terms the foisting of a false case by the Malkangiri police on human rights defender Deba Ranjan. We believe that the case booked against him under Section 354 (B) of IPC (relating to molestation of a woman) and other charges to be a completely fabricated one. Its sole purpose is to try and demoralise and malign Deba Ranjan and to stop him and the organisation he works with, the Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan (GASS) from pursuing their human rights work. We demand that the Odisha government immediately direct the police to withdraw the false cases registered against Deba Ranjan.
Over the past two decades Deba Ranjan has been a consistent and passionate voice against injustice both within and outside Odisha. As a writer, film maker and human rights activist he has highlighted and critiqued policies of destructive development, unbridled mining practices, displacement, police impunity, atrocities on dalits, women and adivasis, the inhuman and ugly politics of hindutva and more recently issues of farmers’ suicides in a context of acute agrarian distress. It is this activism that the police seek to throttle by the filing of this false case. They have stooped to the level of misusing law pertaining to sexual violence on women in their attempt to browbeat Deba Ranjan.
Deba Ranjan is a long associate of not only the Human Rights Forum (HRF) and several rights organisations, he is a friend of many ongoing movements across the nation. He was part of a joint fact-finding exercise along with the well-known human rights activist and HRF founder-member (late) K Balagopal in the summer of 2009 that looked into police violence on adivasis in the name of curbing the Maoist movement in the districts of South Odissa. He has been part of extended fact-findings that investigated attacks on Christians in Khandhamal and Karnataka and on massacres of civilians by the paramilitary in South Chattisgarh. His documentary films depicting these and other issues with immense sensitivity have been screened in various States as well as in international fora.
Deba Ranjan and GASS are among the few voices in Odisha that are speaking out against governmental lies and distortions and are striving to draw out the truth. More recently, they have played a seminal role in bringing to light the extra-judicial killing by BSF personnel of an adivasi farmer Ganga Kirsani of Litiput village, Koraput district. This is one of those rare instances when it was even established officially that it was a killing by unilateral firing of the BSF.
We deplore this attempt by the State to scuttle voices of dissent. We call upon the Odisha government to sincerely address issues raised by human rights defenders in a democratic manner and to desist from such disgraceful attempts at framing dissenters.
VS Krishna (HRF general secretary)
Bela Bhatia (Independent researcher and human rights worker)
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