Suspected Maoist conduit arrested in Delhi
October 4th, 2011 - 9:16 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) A suspected Maoist conduit, accused of receiving “protection money” from the Essar group on behalf of the rebels, was Tuesday arrested in south Delhi by Chhattisgarh Police, police said. The woman’s arrest triggered condemnation from activists who termed it “illegal”.
Soni Sori, a tribal teacher from Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh, was arrested from Katwaria Sarai area.
Soni, who is in her 30s, was later brought before a court which sent her to judicial custody for a day.
Human right activist and People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) general secretary, Kavita Shrivastava, however, condemned the arrest saying the cases against Sori are fabricated.
“The cases framed against her are fabricated and her arrest is illegal. She is being falsely implicated and it’s a complete violation of human rights,” said Shrivastava whose house in Jaipur was raided by Chhattisgarh Police Monday in pursuit of Sori.
Shrivastava, who broke down in a press conference here, charged the government of “silencing the dissent in the country”.
“The raid at my house was an act of collusion between Rajasthan and Chattisgarh governments which want to silence their critics. They searched my house with a warrant in which no IPC section was mentioned,” she added.
Chhattisgarh Police, in July, filed a case against Sori for allegedly collecting Rs.15 lakh from a contractor of the Essar group.
Following the registration of the case, police picked up her nephew Lingaram Kodopi in Chhattisgarh accusing him of being a Maoist sympathiser. He alleged that police had implicated him.
In 2010, Chhattisgarh Police booked Sori in a case related to an attack on Congress leader Avdesh Gautam’s house.
There are five different cases registered against Sori in Chhattisgarh under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, police said.
Sori, who left her studies in a medical college for a government job at Sameli village as warden of a residential school for girls, later went into hiding.
An Essar group general manager D.V.C.S. Verma was arrested Sep 27 from Raipur for his alleged role in paying “protection money” to the Maoists to help the company reopen a 267-km iron ore slurry supply pipeline in Dantewada district.
His arrest followed questioning of Essar contractor B.K. Lala, who was caught while handing over Rs.15 lakh.
- Suspected Maoist conduit's judicial custody extended (Lead) - Oct 05, 2011
- Essar channelised money to Maoists: Chhattisgarh - Dec 16, 2011
- Soni Sori, Lingaram: Maoist conduits or police trap? - Dec 25, 2011
- Chhattisgarh conducting intelligence operations against Maoists - Jan 05, 2012
- Rights activists demand release of suspected Maoist sympathiser - Sep 11, 2011
- Essar under scanner for paying Maoists - Sep 15, 2011
- Essar official held for funding Maoists - Sep 28, 2011
- Apply Chhattisgarh's special security law to Essar, says Congress - Sep 23, 2011
- Essar officials questioned over payment to Maoists - Sep 20, 2011
- Apex court orders Soni Sori's medical checkup in Kolkata - Oct 20, 2011
- Chhattisgarh teacher on hunger strike, alleges police harassment - Oct 12, 2011
- NHRC sends notice in Soni Sori case - Oct 11, 2011
- Apex court decision on Soni Sori's medical check Thursday - Oct 19, 2011
- Essar GM gets bail in Maoists 'payment' case - Jan 05, 2012
- Change suspected Maoist conduit's jail: Apex court (Lead) - Dec 02, 2011
Tags: chattisgarh, civil liberties, code police, collusion, congress leader, essar group, gautam, general secretary, government job, indian penal code, judicial custody, kavita, lakh, maoist, police police, protection money, s union, shrivastava, south delhi, violation of human rights