Jailhouse rock, the ‘others’ in the dock
A doctor serving Odisha’s tribal heartland was arrested for allegedly supporting the resistance against bauxite mining. Satyasundar Barik speaks to Adivasi and Dalit communities, which allege the police are using the legal process for intimidation
The parents (centre and right) of Randall Sequeira, a 39-year-old doctor, who was arrested by Odisha police for his support to the people resisting bauxite mining. They came from Mumbai to meet their imprisoned son in Rayagada and demanded his release.
It was close to 11 p.m. on October 16. A posse of police personnel knocked on the door of a rented house in Hilltown, Bhawanipatna, the headquarters of Odisha’s Kalahandi district. Dr. Randall Sequeira, 39, opened the door. He was arrested along with Laxman Naik, a 31-year-old Dalit activist who was also in the house.
The following day, the police linked their arrests to a violent clash that had taken place 192 days earlier. Neither Sequeira nor Naik were among the 26 villagers initially named in FIR No. 85/2026, which was registered at the Kashipur police station in the neighbouring Rayagada district. Instead, the police added them later. They were allegedly identified from a category of 100 unnamed ‘others’ from Kantamal town, in Rayagada’s Kashipur, mentioned in the FIR.
Spotlight / In the Spotlight / Odisha / mining
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