By TCN News,
The Kerala High Court has granted bail on conditions to human rights activists Thushar Nirmal Sarathy and Jaison C Cooper, who were arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act by the Kerala police on January 30, 2015 on the charge of being Maoist sympathisers.
The duo was granted bail on Tuesday by a division bench comprising Justice K T Sankaran and Justice Babu Mathew P Joseph.
Jaison C Cooper
While granting bail, the High Court directed the duo to furnish a bond for Rs 25,000 plus two solvent surety of the like amount. Besides, the activists were directed to surrender the passports and to appear before the Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner of Police every week.
Earlier, the National Human Rights Commission had issued a notice to the Kerala government seeking explanations for the allegations mounted against the police that human right activists were targeted by the police.
Activist Jaison C Cooper was detained from his house at Mattancherry, whereas lawyer and human rights activist Thushar Sarathy was arrested from Kozhikode where he was attending a public protest meeting.
Cooper, a well-known social activist and blogger, has been actively engaged in an array of popular struggles, which triggered strong agitation against the government. He was taken into police custody from his office on January 29, 2014, Thursday morning without any notice or arrest warrant. The police took him to the custody saying his colleagues that he will be release if any of his colleagues reach the police station.
Thushar Sarathy, a civil rights activist in the forefront of people’s struggles has been systematically under police surveillance. He was also included in a “Maoist look-out notice” for his participation in the struggle against illegal quarry mafia, which were posing threat to the existence of tribal settlement in Palakkad.
While talking to the media persons Jaison C Cooper said the police was using oppressive measures to resist the popular mass movements against the injustice.
Related:
Are social activists being targeted in Kerala?