‘Naxal’ arrest: Rights panel asks DGP to file report

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the State Director General of Police (DGP) to file an Action taken Report in the case of 42-year-old Sudhir Dhawale,an alleged Naxal who was arrested early last month. Dhawale,who published a monthly journal Vidrohi,was on the wanted list of the police and arrested from Wardha station by the Gondia police assisted by an ATS team. He has been booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and is in judicial custody.

In December,five alleged members of banned Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) were arrested. Naxalite literature and laptop were recovered from two offices of the outfit. The accused had allegedly given Dhawale’s name which led to his arrest,the police had claimed then.

Soon after his arrest,a human rights organisation Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) moved the NHRC,alleging that Dhawale has been victimised and was wrongly framed by the police. Terming Dhawale’s arrest as suppression of freedom of speech and the Dalit movement,the group demanded his release.

The police in his remand application claimed that under the garb of an activist,Dhawale helped and aided Naxal movement in the state and charged him with sedition. The NHRC has given four weeks to the state DGP to file an extensive action taken report in the case.