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Odisha tribals protest doctor’s arrest; police allege anti-mining violence role
Odisha tribals protest arrests of two anti-mining activists, alleging a crackdown on opposition to Vedanta’s proposed Sijimali bauxite mine.
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Hundreds of tribals held a protest in southern Rayagada district in Odisha on Monday to demand the release of Dr Randall Sequeira and karate instructor Laxman Naik. The two were arrested in connection with clashes over Vedanta’s proposed bauxite mining project, with protesters alleging that the police action is aimed at suppressing local opposition to mining.
The protesters, organised under the Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS), gathered outside the Muniguda tehsil office and demanded the withdrawal of cases against activists and an end to alleged attempts to facilitate mining in the Niyamgiri hills. They have planned another protest in Sijimali on Tuesday.
Police said the two are accused of violence, criminal intimidation and other offences. Sequeira faces charges including attempted murder, rioting and offences under the Arms Act, while multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) have been invoked in the case.
“Both were arrested for their alleged involvement in threatening members of the public and other serious offences. Sequeira has eight criminal cases registered against him, while Naik is named in 16 cases. Both were produced before a court following their arrest and their bail pleas were rejected, after which they were sent to Rayagada sub-jail,” said Raj Prasad, Rayagada Superintendent of Police. “Dr RandallSequeira was not providing medical services to the people but was engaged in instigating tribals against the state government. Why would police arrest any innocent person, especially a doctor?” said Akhileswar Singh, South Western Range DIG.
Police said the two were arrested by Kalahandi police from a rented house in Bhawanipatna at 11pm on October 16 and handed over to Rayagada police. They were arrested in connection with clashes on April 6 and 7 in Kantamal village of Kashipur where activists held a protest against the construction of a road linked to the proposed Sijimali bauxite mine.
DIG Singh said that the two men, accompanied by 25-30 people, had visited the home of two women in Kantamal who supported the mining project and threatened them to withdraw their support. According to police, one of the women had complained that her family was confined in their house for three days and denied food and water. She also alleged that she and her children had received death threats and that she was pressured to withdraw a police complaint.
But the arrests have triggered protests among activists who said Sequeira had provided free medical care to people in remote tribal villages for several years.
The 39-year-old doctor, who completed his MBBS at St John’s Medical College in Bengaluru and an MD in internal medicine from Sawai Man Singh Medical College in Rajasthan, came to Kalahandi in 2017 and later began visiting remote villages to provide healthcare.
“He treated patients suffering from malaria, tuberculosis, fever and other ailments in areas where access to hospitals is very limited. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he and his associates provided medical assistance. We believe he has been falsely implicated,” said Govind Naik, a resident of Sijimali village. “He had treated people injured during the police lathi-charge and the use of tear gas during the Sijimali agitation on April 6 and 7,” said Suna Majhi of Sarambai village.
Sequeira’s father, Alex Sequeira, who travelled from Mumbai to meet him in jail on Monday, said his son had spent the last six to seven years providing healthcare and creating awareness among the poor and marginalised communities in the remote areas of Kalahandi, Koraput and Rayagada.
The proposed Sijimali bauxite mine, auctioned to Vedanta in March 2023, has faced sustained opposition from local activists who fear that mining will damage forests, water sources and traditional livelihoods. The project seeks to tap an estimated 311 million tonnes of high-grade bauxite reserves spread over 1,549 hectares and involves diversion of 709.72 hectares of forest land.
Clashes between protesters and police in April left several people injured, including at least 40 police personnel, according to the document. While activists have accused the administration of trying to silence the anti-mining movement, police said that the arrests were based on complaints and evidence of alleged criminal offences.
