[Reader-list] Oppose Dr. Vinayak Sen's Arrest

[lalit batra]

Dear Friends,

You might be aware that Dr. Vinayak Sen, General Secretary, PUCL (Chhattisgarh) and Vice President, PUCL (National) was arrested day before yesterday by Chattisgarh Police under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004 and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2006. Dr. Sen is a widely respected civil liberties and public health activist who has been at the forefront of exposing killings of innocent tribals in Bastar in fake encounters by Salwa Judum and para military forces. Dr. sen is also a very active member of Medico Friends Circle, a collective of public spirited health professionals committed to develop an alternative paradigm of health care in the country. Please find at the end of this message a brief biodata of Dr. Sen prepared by PUDR, Delhi. 
It seems that in the name of countering Naxalism the Indian state is hell bent upon stifling every voice of dissent. It is feared that Dr. Sen's arrest will be followed by arrests of other noted civil liberties activities in the state. Please come forward to oppose the arrest of Dr. Vinayak Sen and demand for scrapping of the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2004 and Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2006.

Lalit Batra


To protest against the Arrest of Dr. Binayak Sen
General Secretary, PUCL, Chattisgarh

JOIN PROTEST DHARNA 
at
CHATTISGARH BHAWAN,
SARDAR PATEL MARG
New Delhi

Time: 12 Noon
Date: 17th May 2007

Peoples's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
People's Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL)
Medico Friend Circle
National Alliance for People's Movement (NAPM)

A Brief Introduction of Dr. Sen
Dr. Binayak Sen is a very well known person and highly respected both in Chhattisgarh and elsewhere. As a medical doctor, Dr Sen has been actively involved in reaching health care to the poorest people as well as monitoring the health and nutrition status of the people of Chhattisgarh. Dr Sen helped to set up the Chhttisgarh Mukti Morcha’s Shaheed Hospital a pioneering effort to effort to set up a health programme and hospital  owned and operated by a workers’ organization for the benefit of the  common people Besides being actively associated with the Shaheed Hospital, Dr Sen is a very well respected member of Jan Swasthya Sahyog which is committed to developing a low-cost, effective, community health programme in the tribal and rural areas of Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. He was also a member of the state advisory committee set up to pilot  the community based health worker  programme across Chhattisgarh  that later became well known as the  Mitanin programme. He
 also gives his services to a weekly clinic in a tribal community in Dhamtari district.As General Secreatary of the Chhattisgarh PUCL, he has helped to organize numerous fact finding campaigns into human rights violations in the state including custody deaths,   fake encounters, hunger deaths, dysentery epidemics, malnutrition, and other similar violations. In recent times has worked   intensively to bring large scale oppression and malgovernance within the so called Salwa Judoom in Dantewara to national and international attention. Dr. Sen has regularly spoken to the local and national media on these issues.
Dr Sen  has been contributing theoretical papers to books and journals on public health .He was the recipient  in 2004 of the Paul  Harrison award for  lifetime work medical Care in the service of Humanity, an  award given  annually  by the Christian Medical College Vellore to one of its alumni.


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