Maharashtra govt should make its stand clear on Stan Swamy's case: Legislator

A prayer meet was held outside St Peter`s Church, Bandra where Fr Swamy`s funeral service took place. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Claiming that Jesuit priest Stan Swamy was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case without any evidence, a legislator in Maharashtra on Tuesday demanded that the state government make a statement on the issue.

Swamy, 84, died at a Mumbai hospital on Monday while waiting for bail on medical grounds. "Towards the end of his life, he had to languish in jail and after the court's intervention he received treatment but it was too late," said Kapil Patil, an independent member, in the Legislative Council.

Swamy, who was born in Tamil Nadu, worked selflessly for the rights of tribals in Jharkhand, he said, alleging that the activist died due a delay in getting medical treatment. "He was arrested without any evidence and reason and dubbed as a naxal in the case related to Koregaon-Bhima riots," Patil claimed.

Though a central agency (NIA) is conducting probe of the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, it did not mean that the state can not have any stand, he said. "Why was he arrested, why he had to stay in jail without any reason, why there was a delay in his treatment, was the state supposed to do something, who was responsible for it....The state and this council have the right to know about it. I request the state government to make clear its stand and present facts about the issue during the session," Patil said.

The two-day monsoon session of the state legislature, however, ended on Tuesday. Swamy, arrested by the National Investigation Agency in October 2020, had moved the Bombay High Court earlier this year seeking bail on merits and health grounds.

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