Tribal bodies and human rights outfits of Jharkhand submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India on Wednesday, calling for punishment of those responsible for the “murder” of Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, the release of political prisoners, and the repeal of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

They also termed the uniform civil code as an attack on tribal customs.

Members under the aegis of Shaheed Father Stan Swamy Nyay Morcha staged a meeting near Raj Bhavan on Wednesday and submitted the memorandum addressed to President Droupadi Murmu through Jharkhand governor C.P. Radhakrishnan. They took a ‘sankalp’ (resolution) to fight for the protection of land, forest and water resources, repeal of the UAPA, punishment for those responsible for the death of Stan Swamy and release of political prisoners to mark the second death anniversary of octogenarian Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy. They would also continue their agitation against the Centre’s plan of bringing a uniform civil code (UCC).

“Bhima Koregaon case is a baseless and fake case sponsored by the Modi government, targeting only social activists, intellectuals and lawyers who speak for the oppressed and deprived sections of the country and question the anti-people policies of the government. No evidence has been found against the 16 accused including Stan Swamy. However, only two people got bail after a long struggle. All others have been in custody for five years while Father Swamy was murdered in custody. The trial of the case has not even started to date. We want the release of all such prisoners,” said Elena Horo, a member of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha.

Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old tribal rights activist, was accused by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of conspiring with the Maoists to overthrow the Indian government. The Parkinson’s patient was arrested in October 2020 from Namkum near Ranchi and lodged in a Mumbai jail, where he contracted Covid. He died in custody at a hospital in July 2021, after suffering a cardiac arrest, while waiting for the trial to begin.

The Arsenal Consulting, in its report published in The Washington Post last year, states that digital evidence used to arrest Stan Swamy in the Bhima Koregaon case was planted into his computer’s hard drive.

“For peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), students, farmers, tribals, journalists, human rights activists, trade union activists and cultural activists have been victimised under the draconian UAPA as under this law anyone can be denied bail for months without proof and can be labelled as a terrorist. We also want the repeal of such laws,” said Bhubaneswar Kewat, a CPM leader who was present at the meeting.

Tribal rights activist Dayamani Barla said: “Now the Centre is trying to bring the UCC which is a direct attack on the tribal customs and tradition. There is no way tribal societies in Jharkhand will accept the erasure of their customary laws and practices, which have already been recognised and codified through centuries of struggle by our people.”