Father Stan Swamy died of cardiac arrest on Monday. Image used for representational purposes.
(Photo: Shruti Mathur/The Quint)
Following tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy's demise on Monday, 5 July, ten Opposition leaders including Congress' Sonia Gandhi, National Congress Party's Sharad Pawar, Trinamool Congress' Mamata Banerjee have penned a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind, urging him to direct the central government to act against "those responsible for foisting false cases on him, his continued detention in jail, and inhuman treatment".
In a letter dated Tuesday, 6 July, the politicians wrote of the deplorable circumstances surrounding his passing:
Other signees of the letter include Farooq Abdullah, Hemant Soren, Tejashwi Yadav, MK Stalin, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, and HD Deve Gowda.
Further, the letter stated: "The numerous appeals made to shift him out of the overcrowded Taloja Jail that had seen a huge rise in COVID cases went unheeded. His appeals for bail and being sent home too were rejected."
The letter went on to underline that Swamy was denied treatment for his various illnesses including Parkinson's.
Father Stan Swamy, who was incarcerated for his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case, passed away as a pre-trial prisoner after suffering a cardiac arrest one day before his bail hearing.
He was 83 when he had first moved a plea before the NIA Special Court on 27 November 2020, seeking bail on medical grounds.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)