Shocking Judgment on Binayak Sen

Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity is shocked at the judgment of the Raipur Additional District and Sessions Judge in Chhattisgarh which has given life imprisonment to Dr Binayak Sen. We know Dr. Sen for many years as a humane doctor. He has not, like many others, turned his profession for mere profit making but has used his skills to serve the weakest sections in the country.Dr. Sen established the Shahid Hospital, a hospital for workers, and later ran dispensaries in tribal areas in Chhattisgarh. He has always voiced his views strongly against injustice of all sorts in the country.  

Dr. Sen is the victim of a witch-hunt by the Chhattisgarh Government and is being targeted because he was one of the first and boldest voices of protest against the Salwa Judum and its atrocities in Chhattisgarh.He has also spoken boldly against the Chhattisgarh Government using the excuse of curbing Maoist activity to vacate large tracts of land for corporates like the Tatas and Essar.  Having followed the trial closely, as far as we know, there has been no concrete evidence of his involvement in seditious activities. We would in fact consider him a true patriot who has worked peacefully for the improvement in the lives of the poor and downtrodden in this country. Charges of sedition against such a person reflects very poorly on the Indian democracy.

We condemn the judgement of the Sessions court as being totally politically influenced by those who are in power in Chhattisgarh. We also affirm that we shall continue to struggle to seek justice for him and many others like him, who are being victimised for crimes they have not committed.