The June 13 ML Update reported that the Bharatiya Janata Party government of the state of Jharkhand has received nationwide condemnation for attempts to frame Dipankar Bhattacharya, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation), on attempted murder charges. Bhattacharya and four other activists were charged recently after leading a March 1, 2001, protest against police violence. A bystander at the protest has also been charged. The CPI(ML), the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Lok Janshakti Party and the Samajwadi Party have sent a joint letter to Jharkhand’s chief minister, Arjun Munda, demanding the charges be immediately dropped. The letter stated that BJP rule in Jharkhand has seen human rights violations become the norm and cites several examples, including the murders of civil rights activist Prashant Sahay and Mahendra Singh, a CPI(ML) leader and member of the Jharkhand Assembly. An online petition against the charges can be signed at <http://www.petitiononline.com/Dipankar/petition.html>.

From Green Left Weekly, June 28, 2006.
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