Prof. Shoma Sen was arrested on 6th June 2018 in pre-dawn raids conducted simultaneously across four cities along with four others. They were Surendra Gadling, a respected lawyer who fought multiple pro bono cases for adivasis, dalits and political prisoners and General Secretary, Indian Association of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL); Sudhir Dhawale, founder, Republican Panthers Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal (Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation Movement) and editor, Vidrohi magazine; Rona Wilson, public relations secretary of Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) and Mahesh Raut, anti-displacement activist and former Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow (PMRDF). All those arrested have at various times spoken against the brutalities committed by state forces and the police against its citizens and have fought for the release of political prisoners. These arrests come in the wake of the assertion of dalit, adivasi, OBC and Muslim unity during the Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan organised by the ‘Elgaar Parishad’ in Pune on December 31, 2017, and the attack by right wing organisations following the extraordinary unity among the communities.
- Get to know Prof. Shoma Sen here
- Read the WSS Statement On The Arbitrary Arrests Of Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, and Mahesh Raut By The Maharashtra Police
- Statements by others in solidarity with the arrested 5
People’s Union for Civil Liberties
National Alliance of People’s Movements
Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners
Citizen’s solidarity with voices of democracy
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Association for Protection of Democratic Rights
Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation
Indian Association of People’s Lawyers
Statement of Solidarity from the Academic Community
- For a media archive on the arrest of Prof. Shoma Sen and others visit here
WSS 