Renowned writer, Arundhati Roy has commented on the arrest of crusader of anti-caste movement and DU professor, Hany Babu. She stated the one after other arrests of activists, academicians, and lawyers in the Bhima Koregaon matter shows the fears of the present government.
In an interview with Janchowk, Arundhati said the arrest of Prof. Hany Babu is the latest in the line of arrests in Bhima Koregaon’s case. The ruthless arrests of academicians, lawyers, and activists show the fear of the government that the people who are connected with this newborn, rising secular,anti-caste, and anti-capitalist politics are not only giving an alternative narrative but are its representative as well.
Yesterday, Hany Babu was arrested by the NIA in Mumbai. He was summoned from Delhi on 23 July for interrogation relating to the Bhima Koregaon matter, in which 11 other activists have already been arrested and imprisoned. Before this, Mumbai Police had gone to Babu’s house for interrogation in 2018. Hany Babu resides in Noida, Delhi NCR. Back then, they had taken away many things along with his computer. He is now the 12th person to be arrested in this matter. Before him, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Anand Teltumbade, and Gautam Naulakha are some of the activists who were arrested and put behind bars.
On the present government, Arundhati Roy stated: “This kind of self-destructive Hindu-Rashtra politics has brought the country to present crisis that has ruined the lives of millions of people. The irony is that it includes people who had supported this government earlier.
The NIA in its statement claimed that Hany Babu´s arrest has come out of the facts that have come out during the interrogation. NIA also accused him of conspiring with the other 11 arrested people in inciting violence at Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon.
The mounting number of arrests are a sign of the government’s insecurity as well as its attempt to instill fear in dissenters and human rights activists.
