Stan Swamy, arrested in Elgaar Parishad case, dies at 84
Tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, who was arrested in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case last year, died on Monday at the age of 84. Swamy's lawyers had moved a medical bail plea on Monday morning after his health deteriorated early on Sunday. He had been lodged in the Taloja jail until he was shifted to the Holy Family Hospital on May 30.
Tribal activist Stan Swamy died at 1:30 pm on Monday, his lawyer Mihir Desai told the Bombay HC. Swamy had continued to be in the ICU since testing positive for COVID-19 in May, the HC was told. On Sunday, Swamy had difficulty breathing and his oxygen levels were fluctuating, which could be a result of long-term post-COVID complications, Desai said.
Swamy, a Jesuit priest, had repeatedly complained of inadequate health facilities at the Taloja jail, seeking bail. If the situation continued, he "would die soon," he had argued. On Saturday, the HC had adjourned his bail hearing to Tuesday.
At the time of his arrest in October 2020, Swamy was suffering from Parkinson's disease. However, he continued to be denied bail on medical grounds. In May this year, he had tested positive for COVID-19 after showing symptoms for weeks. Thereafter, the Bombay High Court issued directives for him to be shifted to Holy Family Hospital and he was hospitalized.
Swamy was arrested on October 8 last year by the National Investigation Agency from Ranchi in the Elgaar Parishad case. The case involves one of the two probes into the Bhima Koregaon caste violence. It is alleged that banned Naxalite groups organized the Elgaar Parishad program in Pune on December 31, 2017 (the eve of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon).
According to the police, speeches made at the Elgaar Parishad event were at least partly responsible for instigating Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1, 2018. Swamy was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The NIA claimed Swamy helped the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in its cause through various civil rights organizations.
