Civil rights activists protest Mahato's conviction

Civil rights activists today took out a rally here to protest the conviction of tribal leader Chhatradahar Mahato.
Mahato, the face of the Lalgarh movement in West Bengal and convenor of the Maoists-backed Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities, and five others were yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment by a West Midnapore court under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for their alleged links with Maoists.
The activists demanded that Mahato and others be released. They also alleged that the ruling TMC reneged on its promise to release all political prisoners.
"TMC had promised it would ensure freedom for all political prisoners like Chhatradhar Mahato after coming to power. But it forgot its promises," civil rights activist Sujato Bhadra said.

"The draconian UAPA law makes it very difficult to prove that a person is indeed innocent," he said and demanded that it be abolished.