Based on these discussions… GUILTY

38. According to sahayak upnirikshak H C Jadhav,he visited Balarampur (West Bengal) on the orders of the SP,Raipur,on 12 August 2008 and took down the statement of Sadhan Kumar Pathak… nearly 140-150 Maoists bombed a police camp being built in Gudpana with landmines… The name Vijay Da figured in the case. This witness has stated that Narayan Sanyal is also known as Vijay Da.

42. Going through the statements of prosecution witnesses and other documents,accused Sanyal is proved to be a politburo member of CPI (Maoist) and involved in various Naxal and criminal activities.

LETTER NETWORK

43. As far as the involvement of Binayak Sen in Naxal activities is concerned,witness Anil Kumar Singh has stated that when asked where he received these letters,Piyush Guha replied Sen visited Sanyal who gave him the letters.

45. Witness BS Jagrit has stated that when they (a police team) visited A/26,Surya Apartment,Katora Talab,Raipur,residence of Sen,he and his wife Ilina were present… a small yellow book… special edition of Peoples March of November-December 2004 (16 pages),a letter by Madan Lal Barkade addressed to Comrade Binayak Sen,a three-page Andhra Pradesh Human Rights and Naxalite Group (document) in English… a postcard from Sanyal to Sen (were recovered)… These seized articles are A-19 to A-38…. a CPU and eight CDs were seized…identified as A-38 to A-45.

46. Sen has admitted to the recovery of these articles except A-37 from his residence…. But the above witnesses (policemen present) have rejected his claim,proving that A-37 too was recovered from his residence.

52. The above testimonies of various witnesses (policemen posted in Raipur jail) prove the letter in English recovered from Guha was written by Sanyal,which,according to the prosecution,was given by Sanyal to Sen in jail to be handed over to Guha for delivery in Kolkata.

RELATIVE MEETINGS

54. Witness S R Thakur says he was posted as deputy jailor in Central Jail,Raipur,from 24 February 1999 to 28 May 2007…on 22 July 2006,Sen introduced himself as a relative of Sanyal and met him in jail for family discussions… the meeting is mentioned in the (jail) register as entry no 24,with signatures of Thakur,Sen and Sanyal.

55. According to S R Thakur,Sen met Sanyal,claiming to be a relative,on 4 August 2008,12 June 2006,21 December 2006,5 January 2007,12 January 2007,19 February 2007,26 February 2007,14 March 2007,17 March 2007,29 March 2007,9 April 2007,19 April 2007…. during cross-examination,above witness has admitted that Sen did not describe himself as Sanyals relative while applying for a meeting.

57. Witness RK Singh Keshar says he was posted as jailor in Bilaspur jail… on 22 January 2007,advocate Sudha Bhardwaj and Sen came to meet Sanyal… entry is mentioned in the (jail) register… Sen claimed to be Sanyals brother,about which he made an entry that carries his signature.  

58. Though the accused have denied meeting (Sanyal) as a relative,the above irrefutable statements of witnesses prove that Sen met Sanyal on various dates mentioned above claiming to be a relative.

JOBS & HOUSES 

59. Regarding involvement of Sen in Naxal activities,witness Deepak Chaubey says… Sanyal was his tenant… asked who approached him for the house,witness says Binayak Sen…  

60. According to Deepak Choubey,after they published a newspaper advertisement about renting out the house,Sen,Sanyal and Amita Srivastava went to them… Srivastava and Sanyal began living there… the rent was Rs 1,500 per month… Sen had said Sanyal was a relative of his. Sen being a respected citizen… (Choubey) rented out the rooms… At that time Srivastava was a teacher in Vivekananda School. Srivastava and Sanyal lived in the house for six-seven months,and when he (Choubey) visited them in January 2006 for payment of rent he came to know from neighbour Sharmaji that the Andhra Pradesh police had raided the house,Sanyal had been arrested and Srivastava was absconding.  

61. According to witness Manish Daga,he was principal of Jatan Devi Daga Higher Secondary School,Civil Lines. He knows Amita Srivastava because she taught in the school… she did not return after leaving in March 2005. He learnt about her Naxal activities in the newspapers. According to Meena Singh Puri,she is the principal of Vivekananda Higher Secondary School,New Shanti Vihar Nagar. Amita/Anita Srivastava was a teacher… around two years ago and she got the job on the recommendation of Ilina Sen.

62. According to Meena Singh Puri,Ilina Sen introduced Srivastava saying… please employ her. Srivastava is an MA (Sociology) from Allahabad University… was speaking good English… was given the job. She worked for seven months,then suddenly stopped coming. She did not submit a resignation… Amita had a CD related to WWII Nazi camps that was shown to students; later they came to know that she was linked to Naxals and had gone absconding.

63. According to witness Arun Kumar Dubey,he was assistant manager in Central Bank of India (main branch,Raipur) from 2004-2007. His home was in Kailashpuri,Raipur. He rented out two rooms to Shankar Singh for Rs 1,500. Shankar and a neighbour said he was a social worker… Shankar said his brother is a journalist and sister-in-law a teacher,whose name he mentioned as Amita Srivastava… he says Sanyal and Sen used to visit Shankar and Amita.

69. According to witness Ramswaroop,he rented out his Rohinipuram,Raipur,house to Shankar Singh… Shankar told him he worked in Rupantar (Ilina’s NGO) office,Katora Talab… According to Udaychand Jain,he was posted as an officer in Corporation Bank,Rajbandha Maidan,Raipur… on 3 November 2003,Shankar Singh opened an account and Ilina Sen signed as his introducer.

70. The statements of these witnesses prove that Binayak Sen and Ilina Sen have links with hardcore Naxals Amita Srivastava and Shankar Singh. On the basis of their contacts and support,hardcore Naxals Amita and Shankar managed to open bank accounts,get jobs and rented homes.  

A CONNECTION

82. A call was made from 9433140118 to 9893224291 (Sen’s number) on 3 February 2007… the number 9433140118 is that of Bula Sanyal (wife of Narayan Sanyas elder brother) in Kolkata. This proves Sen’s family was in contact with Sanyal’s family … Sen has admitted to speaking to Bula Sanyal on phone.

NETWORK

84. According to witness K R Pisda,he was collector in Dantewada… the Naxal problem is persisting in the area for 30 years… Naxal terror increased to the extent that local people found it difficult to survive. Because of these reasons,in June 2005 the Salwa Judum operation against Naxals was launched.

90. According to B S Jagrit,the network of CPI (Maoists) operates in two divisions,urban and rural. The Naxals in urban networking provide support to rural areas by supplying arms,medicines and material for propagation. The accused present in the court are involved in urban networking… The cache of arms seized from Raipur and Durga led to the arrest of K S Priya alias Malati alias Shanti alias Premkumari,wife of Gudsa Unsedi alias Vijay,and Praful Jha… They are hardcore Naxals. Their names are mentioned in the CPU seized from Sens home on 19 May 2007.

91. According to B S Jagrit,Rupantar is a Naxal organisation in Raipur run by Binayak and Ilina Sen… Shankar Singh,Amita Srivastava,Boppana,Madan Barkade,Somey Sen (wife of Naxal Tusharkant Bhattacharya arrested from Patna) have links with the accused present in the court,and their names are in the DVD obtained from the CPU of accused Sen.

SEIZURES

92. Prabhat Patrika recovered from Guha… (articles of the Patrika) opposes the arrest of Sanyal and praises those killed in encounters,calling them martyrs… (another magazine) describes Dandkaranya as Hamara Dandkaranya and a plan for a peoples war to free the area. This magazine also says Peoples Guerilla Army ne CRPF ki nind uda di and takes the responsibility for an attack on (Andhra) CM N Chandrababu Naidu.

94. Article A-8,a letter to Dear friend P,and Article A-9,a letter to Dear Friend V… A-8 mentions a plan for an International Penetration Organisation and the ascent of Maoists to Nepal Parliament.

96. Article A-37 (letter recovered from Sens home) mentions it was sent to him by Chhattisgarh State Committee CPI(Maoist) condemning Salwa Judum and murders of Maoists Bhima Koda and Shyam Bihari…. (Book number 2) mentions Ilina Sen as life member of CLSL,defence witness Ajay TG and hardcore Naxal Shankar Singh are also members… and Binayak Sen is general secretary.

97. (Another book) mentions the name of Yasin Malik and Gulam Rasuldhar of JKLF as members of Marxist Coordination Committee…. termed hardcore Naxal by prosecution. Amita Srivasatva,now absconding,is also mentioned… hardcore Naxal Shankar Singh is mentioned as employee of Rupantar.

102. Counsel for Binayak Sen contends he was arrested on 14 May 2007,whereas on this date CPI (Maoist) was not declared an unlawful organization,declared so in 2009,and hence the charges under Sections 8 (1),(2),(3),(6) of Chhattisgarh Special Public Safety Act 2005 do not apply. This contention does not hold ground… Chhattisgarh government on 12 April 2007 declared CPI (Maoist) and sister organisations unlawful for a year.

105. Binayak Sen says the recovered documents do not mention article A-37… and the article doesnt carry his signature,hence the article was set up by the police to implicate him.

107. According to defence witness Mahesh Mahobe,he videographed the police (raid and) seizure at Sens home. The police carried the seized CDs,cassettes and documents in a bag in open condition…. BS Jagrit and BBS Rajput submitted during cross-examination that as A-37 possibly got stuck to some other article,it couldnt have the signatures of Sen… These witnesses further say the seized articles were produced in sealed condition…which proves that A-19 to A-37 seized from Sens home were presented… and the accused was given a copy only after the seal was broken in court.

112. Contention of accused that they did not know each other…. we have already seen (the transaction of letters among Sanyal,Sen and Guha)….which proves unity of mind and the fact of entering into a criminal conspiracy to commit sedition.

VERDICT

115. On the basis of above discussions,accused Binayak Sen,Narayan Sanyal and Piyush Guha are held guilty of…. promoting Naxal and terror activities… committing the conspiracy to commit sedition…participating in activities and meetings of unlawful organization CPI (Maoist)….managing unlawful organisations,helping in such management.

117. Therefore,accused… are held guilty under Sections 124 (A) and 120 (B) of IPC; Sections 8(1),(2),(3),(5) of Chhattisgarh Special Public Safety Act 2005; Section 39 (2) of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967; and Sanyal under Section 20 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

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