Three years after Stan Swamy’s death in custody, activists recall his contributions to Adivasi cause

Three years after human rights activist and Catholic priest Stan Swamy died in police custody in a Mumbai hospital, his name remains to be cleared of the allegations against him in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.

This is what activist Aloka Kujur reminded her fellow activists and supporters who had gathered at the Bagaicha Social Research Centre in Ranchi on Friday to commemorate Swamy’s third death anniversary.

The centre was founded by Swamy in 2006 to work for the rights of Adivasis and other marginalised groups.

Swamy was among a group of 16 lawyers and activists who had been accused of instigating caste violence between Maratha and Dalit groups in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2018 and was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. He died on July 5, 2021, nearly nine months after he was arrested.

Seven of those arrested in the case are still in jail.

The 84-year-old had suffered from several ailments, including Parkinson’s disease and had contracted the coronavirus infection at the Taloja prison at Navi Mumbai.

In December 2022, a report by a United States-based digital forensics firm had said that a hacker planted evidence on a device owned by Swamy.

Lawyer Lalita Lakra, highlighting the importance Swamy held for Jharkhand’s Adivasis, said on Friday: “Father Stan should be considered a martyr, as he...

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