Amnesty Int expresses concern at detention of DKU activists

New Delhi, Oct 28 (UNI) Amnesty International has expressed concerns at the detention of eight activists of the Dadri Kisan Union on September 27 in Uttar Pradesh and urged the state government to ensure that the right to peaceful protest is upheld.

The DKU activists were detained by the UP Police for protesting displacement of farmers in Dadri following the state government's recent decision to acquire farm land, part of which would be sold and part leased to Reliance Energy Group for setting up 3,740 MW gas-based power plant, a statement said here.

According to reports eight people, including DKU leader B S Rawat and two women, were detained when they were travelling to New Delhi to attend a press conference to highlight the ongoing protests at Dadri.

It was alleged that police threatened Mr Rawat and the other activists that they should drop their protest plans and levelled several false charges, including attempting to murder police personnel on duty, rioting and violence, against them.

A group of concerned people from New Delhi were also not allowed to meet the detained activists, it was claimed.

Amnesty International urged the UP government to ensure that right to peaceful protest was upheld in the state and that the police should not resort to harassment of activists involved in exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful protest.

The organisation also called upon the UP government to ensure that the rights of those sought to be displaced by the proposed project at Dadri were upheld in full.

UNI IP PR VV1350