Over 200 TISS students, faculty and alumni members condemn the arrest of Mahesh Raut

Over 200 people from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) including students, faculty and alumni have condemned the arrest of Mahesh Raut, an alumnus of TISS.

On June 6, the Pune police carried out raids at different locations across the country to arrest five suspects related to the Bhima Koregaon caste-violence that affected Maharashtra in January 2018. Those arrested include advocate Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen and Raut. Students, alumni, faculty and staff of the university have demanded Raut’s immediate and unconditional release.

The statement has pointed out that the charge levied against Raut have been made under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, an Act which has “draconian provisions that ensure detention up to six months without any evidence…and make it difficult to obtain bail”.

The statement also raised concerns on Manohar Bhide, one of the two accused in the violence during Bhima Koregaon, remaining “unarrested”.

Update: The headline has been changed to reflect that the letter was issued by 200 members of the TISS community, including students, faculty and alumni, and not issued by TISS itself. We regret the error.