Various civil society organisations (CSOs) met Jharkhand inspector general (IG) special branch Prabhat Kumar on Thursday and sought clarification on the news that an investigation was on against 64 CSOs for allegedly having links with Maoists.

The CSOs also submitted a letter addressed to DGP Jharkhand Ajay Kumar Singh through IG special branch about the news published in a local vernacular on Wednesday about Jharkhand police calling for a probe against 64 bodies accusing them as suspected frontal organisations for banned Maoist groups.

“As per the news report, the Jharkhand Special Branch has been ordered by police to investigate these 64 organisations. Although the source has not been cited in this news report, for the last few days a part of the departmental letter was sent to the Superintendents of Police and Heads of Special Branch and the list of these suspected organisations is circulating on social media,” the letter claims.

“Many CSOs included on the list (which are also signatories of the letter) are surprised and distressed. These organisations have been continuously fighting for the constitutional rights of the tribals, Dalits, backward classes, minorities and the deprived people of the state,” the letter claims.

It also informs that these organisations have been continuously fighting for rights to water, forests, land, socio-economic rights like MNREGA, food security, pension etc and raising voices against displacement, communal violence and raising voice for farmers, tribal self-governance system and against violence like mob-lynching, registration of fake cases and fake encounters etc.

It also claims to help victims get administrative and legal support. “Peaceful democratic agitations have always been carried out by these organizations within the constitutional ambit. Various ministers and chief ministers of different states have taken cognizance of many issues raised by these organizations,” the letter adds.

“Claiming all these organisations as frontal organisations of the banned CPI (Maoist) without any evidence is extremely worrying,” the letter questions. The letter which contains signatures of all the organisations urges DGP Jharkhand to confirm the news or publicly reject the list.