Orissa Police did the prefect and right job of arresting David suspecting
security violation. Any foreign national can be arrested in US provided he/she
is a suspect of national security or suspected to be involved in any kind of
suspicious activities. Hats off to Odisha Police.
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David Pugh, a school teacher, initially posed himself as a reporter when
asked about his profession in the US, police said, adding there was no point in
misleading them.
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The US national, who has been detained near Kalinga Nagar on suspicion of being
an anti-government activist, said he was studying problems of people in
industrial areas. David Pugh, who came to India on a tourist visa in July,
was detained by Orissa police near the steel hub of Kalinga Nagar along with a
woman Maoist cadre on Tuesday night.
Pugh, who left here for Delhi this morning, told interrogators that he was
not interested in sight seeing but was studying problems of people in
industrial areas. Police said Pugh visited Singur, Navi Mumbai, Paradip
before entering the Kalinga Nagar. Suspecting his intentions, the state
police have urged the Ministry of External Affairs to cancel Pugh's visa and
ensure that the San Francisco native never comes to India again, Jajpur
district Superintendent of Police D S Kuttey said. Pugh, however, argued that
he had not made any mistake by visiting the industrial areas of the country.
But, police said, had Pugh been interested in study and research, he would have
secured a student visa instead of a tourist visa before visiting India. "He
first went to Navi Mumbai and then Singur before coming to Orissa.... His
intention was not exactly that of a tourist," Kuttey said. Pratima Das, the
woman Maoist accompanying him, was later arrested. Pugh claimed he was not
aware that she was a hardcore Maoist cadre, he had attended a peoples'
tribunal here on August 10 before going to Posco area in Paradip and Kalinga
Nagar, the sources said. They also suspected him to be a member of
International Communist Movement (ICM) which has roots in most parts of the
world. "We doubt his intention of coming to the country," Director General of
Police (DGP) Gopal Chandra Nanda said adding he was therefore detained for
questioning. Pugh, however, was allowed to leave the state after his
antecedents were verified by the police.
Pravin Patel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Jharkhand Forum | Jharkhand Blog | Jharkhand Video | Jharkhand Network
Dear all
The news of arrest of David Pugh and persons accompanying him as Maoists by
the Orissa Police from the Jagatsinghpur area is strongly deplored by me and
other activists.
Mr. David Pugh is a teacher and is keen to know the status of tribals who are
displaced for industrial ventures. I have organised a meeting of David Pugh at
Raigarh where few social activists were also invited. The meeting lasted for
the whole day. No where during the meeting or at any point of discussion, there
was any thing that we can club with or associate with Maoist. He is a simple
man. He had program to go to Ranchi but due to extreme rush in the train to
Rourkela, he had to cancel the program and stay at night at Raigarh. He had
plans to visit Jharkhand and then to Orissa to meet the people at Kalinga
Nagar, Posco victims, and also at Surya Sponge iron under Barchana P.S. where
police fired live bullets on agitating tribals.
I strongly deplore the act of Orissa police and urge our members to stand
with Mr. David Pugh.
with best wishes
Pravin Patel.
Fire on the Mountain Blog:
I just received word that an old friend and fine activist, Bay Area teacher
Dave Pugh, has been detained by the Indian police while investigating struggles
of Indian peasants and tribal people in Orissa who are protesting displacement
resulting from rapacious mining and industrial development. His guide and
translator were also detained.
We don't do this much at FotM, but I urgently request that folks read the press
release after the fold, which has information on how to contact the Indian
government to demand the release of the trio. There is an Orissa government
email address, and fax and phone numbers for Orissa and for the central
government. Please help let these these officials know that Dave's friends and
the broader progressive community in the US are watching.
Also, when you do take action, please let us know so we can track and
coordinate the protest and let folks in India who are defending those detained
know what's up here. Also please cc any email protests or announcements to GN
Saibaba, who is working actively on their defense. His email is
janadolan(at)gmail(dot)com.
UPDATE: Some of the phone and fax numbers in the original press release did not
work. We have retained those we believe are correct. Keep an eye on this space
for further updates.
THE PRESS RELEASE
