Binayak Sen's arrest is 'assault' on democratic rights:Intellectuals

New Delhi, June 16 (UNI) The detention of Chhattisgarh unit of PUCL General Secretary Binayak Sen by the Chhattisgarh Police ''is a grave assault on democratic rights and aimed at silencing dissent against the Raipur establishment,'' intellectuals said today.

A joint statement, carrying signatures of Prof Noam Chomsky among others, circulated to the press here said Dr Sen's arrest was clearly an attempt to intimidate activists of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and other democratic voices who had been speaking against human rights violations in Chhattisgarh.

Dr Sen, who is also the National Vice-President of PUCL, was arrested by the state police on May 14 under the Special Public Security Act, 2006 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 2004.

''The charges framed against him were totally baseless and Dr Sen was detained because he had extensively chronicled fake encounters, rapes, burning of villages and displacement of 'advasis' through independent investigations,'' the statement alleged.

''The Chhattisgarh Police has been committing such serious human rights violations under the state government 'Salwa Judum' campaign, launched to curb Naxalites operating in advasi areas,'' the statement alleged.

''Dr Sen has been instrumental in providing medical help to poor and to the people in under-developed regions of the country.....

And for the past 30 years, he has been promoting community rural health care centres and also helped establishing Shaheed Hospital in Dalli Rajhara, the statement added.

Prof Chomsky and other intellectuals demanded immediate release of Dr Sen, an end to the harassment against human rights activists and repealing of ''black laws being slapped on innocents'' by the Chhattisgarh Police.

Among other signatories to the joint statement were Prof Romila Thapar, Prof Irfan Habib, Dr Ashok Mitra, Arundati Roy, Rajendra Yadav, Prof Jean Dreze, Prof Namwar Singh, Prof Utsa Patnaik and Prof Abhijit Sen.

UNI