The Friends of Jesuits along with representatives of the Catholic Association, Shillong met with Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma to urge him to push for the release of Fr Stan Swami with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
In the letter to Sangma, the Friends of the Jesuits asked the CM to speak to the central government to release Fr Stan on humanitarian grounds and also to quash all allegations against him.
The 83-year-old Fr Stan was arrested on October 8 in connection with the case surrounding the ElgaarParishad, which investigators believe led to the BhimaKoregaon violence in January 2018 in Pune.
“As the Friends of Jesuits have been informed about the ill treatment of Fr Stan by the jail authorities we have also requested the Chief Minister to kindly intervene and personally speak to the jail authorities to treat him with respect and not expose him to a crowded barracks with many people in quarantine as he might get infected by the coronavirus,” the letter stated.
Sangma assured the delegation that he will speak to both the Prime Minister and Home Minister on the matter.
He further said he would speak to the jail authorities and ensure that Fr Stan is given enough respect in treatment considering his age.
In a memorandum to Sangma, the Friends of the Jesuits, Shillong along with all the Catholic Community of Meghalaya also expressed their “deep sense of dismay at the utter silence of the Meghalaya government on the arrest of Fr Stan Swami” by the NIA.
