Here is an update from Kavita Srivastava, Secretary, PUCL, Rajasthan on the case of Ajay T.G., film-maker:
Dear friends,
Ajay TG was released from jail today, the 5th of August, only after 8 pm. It took them till four pm today to get all the papers ready. The work of notarising the property list of Ajay took no time in the jail in the morning. However, the Tehsildar had to verify and countersign the bail sureties that were to be presented by Shobha, Ajay's wife, and another person. The Tehsildar asked the Patwari to verify the papers. The Patwari was not available till very late. However, all the work was done and the papers were finally filed in court by 4pm. Following this, the release order was made out and sent to the jail and then the formalities in jail took more than an hour. The entire process went on till late evening. It was worth the wait for all.
Ajay was given a big welcome back. Shobha, several of his friends, family members from both sides including Shobha's brother Babu and her sister were all there. The most difficult moment was the reunion with his parents.
Ajay spoke over the phone to some of us. When he spoke to me he was very happy. He said that he would not lose a single day to plan the next step on the "case" front. He said that he wouldl be calling his lawyers and working it out
Ajay's release has rekindled hope that things will change in Chhattisgarh.
Kavita Srivastava
Showing posts with label Ajay TG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ajay TG. Show all posts
06 August, 2008
05 August, 2008
Ajay TG granted bail
Ajay TG, film-maker, arrested in Chhattisgarh on trumped-up charges, has at last been granted bail.
Here is a report from Kavita Srivastava, Secretary, PUCL, Rajasthan, who has been tracking Ajay’s case:
So there is good news for all of us. Ajay TG was granted bail today (August 4). However, the release will happen tomorrow.
Chandra Kumar Kashyap, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Durg District, granted bail to Ajay today, the 4th of August, around five pm. The bail was granted under sec 167 (2) (a) (i), which is called statutory bail in local parlance. Since the ninety days had expired and the police had not furnished the charge sheet thus the magistrate who was authorising the detention had to grant him bail.
During the remand hearing on 2nd of August morning the police took further remand till the 12th . The bail had been applied for on 2nd evening itself at 4.45 pm as the ninety days period was over at 5 pm. Since the court asked for the case diary, it was slated for Monday morning. Today Ajay's two friends Dilip Ingley and Bose Thomas were there when the matter got listed and the order was reserved for the evening when they were joined by Ajay 's lawyer Mahendra Dubey and Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj. The order after stating why bail was being granted also stated the conditions under which he would be released. They are
Ajay will furnish a personal bond of Rs. 50,000.
Two sureties of Rs. 25,000 each.
On affidavit, he will give a list of the movable and immovable property he has.
Every 2nd Monday of the month he will give his attendance in the local police station.
He will not move out of the country without the permission of the Court.
While the two sureties (condition 2) were prepared in advance, it was condition (3) which has caused the delay in the release. The Court has asked the lawyers of Ajay to take the notary public to the jail tomorrow morning and get the list of property signed and notarized after which he will be released.
We hope this is the beginning of good news for Ajay TG. Will keep all of you informed of the developments.
Kavita Srivastava
Here is a report from Kavita Srivastava, Secretary, PUCL, Rajasthan, who has been tracking Ajay’s case:
So there is good news for all of us. Ajay TG was granted bail today (August 4). However, the release will happen tomorrow.
Chandra Kumar Kashyap, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Durg District, granted bail to Ajay today, the 4th of August, around five pm. The bail was granted under sec 167 (2) (a) (i), which is called statutory bail in local parlance. Since the ninety days had expired and the police had not furnished the charge sheet thus the magistrate who was authorising the detention had to grant him bail.
During the remand hearing on 2nd of August morning the police took further remand till the 12th . The bail had been applied for on 2nd evening itself at 4.45 pm as the ninety days period was over at 5 pm. Since the court asked for the case diary, it was slated for Monday morning. Today Ajay's two friends Dilip Ingley and Bose Thomas were there when the matter got listed and the order was reserved for the evening when they were joined by Ajay 's lawyer Mahendra Dubey and Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj. The order after stating why bail was being granted also stated the conditions under which he would be released. They are
Ajay will furnish a personal bond of Rs. 50,000.
Two sureties of Rs. 25,000 each.
On affidavit, he will give a list of the movable and immovable property he has.
Every 2nd Monday of the month he will give his attendance in the local police station.
He will not move out of the country without the permission of the Court.
While the two sureties (condition 2) were prepared in advance, it was condition (3) which has caused the delay in the release. The Court has asked the lawyers of Ajay to take the notary public to the jail tomorrow morning and get the list of property signed and notarized after which he will be released.
We hope this is the beginning of good news for Ajay TG. Will keep all of you informed of the developments.
Kavita Srivastava
01 August, 2008
'Release Ajay TG' Film Festival
A ‘Release Ajay TG’ film festival is being organized in Mumbai on Sunday, August 3. According to the organizers, it is dedicated to all political prisoners who have been unlawfully and illegally detained in several parts of the country, while working for protecting the fundamental rights of every citizen. It is also in support of the demand for release of human rights activists Ajay TG and Dr. Binayak Sen, arrested in Chhattisgarh on charges of aiding extremists. .
Below is a list of films to be screened during the festival. The brief note on each film testifies to Ajay’s commitment to the cause of human rights and the remarkable work he has done during the past few years..
Anjam
20 mins 41 sec / 2007-08
Directed by Ajay TG
Documentary about Binayak Sen
Hathaure Wala (Man with the Hammer)
5 mins 46 sec / 1999
Directed by Ajay TG
A portrait of an 80-year old blacksmith who works in the shadow of the Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh. This is Ajay's first film and one from the first trio of films made at Jandarshan.
The Other Side of the Mirror
7 mins 26 sec
An extract of an unfinished film, which links a critique of Indian chauvinism with the contrast between the education of rich and poor children. It then introduces the school which Ajay started.
Aisa Kyon?
1 min 51sec / 2007 / Original Language
A short drama devised and shot by girls at the school run by Ajay TG. The brief was to focus on an issue which affects them. In this film they chose discrimination in education. It was to have been the first of a series of such short dramas on various issues but the project has been interrupted by Ajay's imprisonment.
Photographs
5 mins 57 sec / 2007
A sequence of stills taken by girls in the school Ajay runs, put in order and set to music.
Golapalli: A Fact Finding by the PUCL
15 mins / 2004
Direction, Camera, Editing and Graphics by Ajay TG
This film describes an incident in which two school teachers and a student were killed by paramilitary forces in Golapalli, Tehsil Konta, District Bastar. The film is based on testimonies of the people of the village to a fact finding team of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties.
Jiramtarai: A Fact Finding by the PUCL
15 mins / 2004
Editing and Graphics by Ajay TG
Through interviews of peasant men and women of the village, this film investigates an incident when the CRPF ostensibly provoked by a mine blasted by Naxalites had entered into the fields and village of Jiramtarai and killed three people.
The Journey (Safar)
15 mins 7 sec / 2001 / English subtitles
Directed by Reeta Chandel and Ajay TG
A Jandarshan student film about Reeta's father, a porter in the hospital of the Bhilai Steel Plant. This film is a development of Reeta's 5 minute film, Papa Says, shot by Ajay, as part of an earlier student exercise. The Journey was made because Ajay felt that they should explore questions about marriage and gender which had come up by chance during the shooting of the earlier film.
Living Memory
33 mins 41sec / 2002 / English narration and subtitles
Directed by Shobha Ajay / Co-Directed and partly shot by Ajay TG
A Jandarshan student production, Living Memory is a personal, autobiographical film in which Shobha reflects on her roots in an Andhra Christian community, her marriage with Ajay, a Hindu from Kerala, and grieves for her beloved father who died of cancer during the filming.
Letters and Learning / English subtitles
41 mins / 2003
Directed by Ajay TG
A film about an elderly Satnami who got a job in the Bhilai Steel Plant in return for giving up land, and how he prospered, enabling his daughter to become a school teacher and his granddaughter a doctor. Ajay got to know him when working as Jonathan Parry's field assistant. This Jandarshan student film is not only a biography, but also a critique of attitudes to literacy and knowledge.
Bhook ke Virudh, Bhat ke liye . . . (That No One May Go Hungry)
49 mins / 2004 / Original Language
Direction, Camera, Editing and Graphics by Ajay TG
A documentary about food diversification and the right to food in India.
More information on the campaign as well as Ajay's work is available on
http://www.releaseajaytg.in/ajaytg.html
Below is a list of films to be screened during the festival. The brief note on each film testifies to Ajay’s commitment to the cause of human rights and the remarkable work he has done during the past few years..
Anjam
20 mins 41 sec / 2007-08
Directed by Ajay TG
Documentary about Binayak Sen
Hathaure Wala (Man with the Hammer)
5 mins 46 sec / 1999
Directed by Ajay TG
A portrait of an 80-year old blacksmith who works in the shadow of the Bhilai Steel Plant in Chhattisgarh. This is Ajay's first film and one from the first trio of films made at Jandarshan.
The Other Side of the Mirror
7 mins 26 sec
An extract of an unfinished film, which links a critique of Indian chauvinism with the contrast between the education of rich and poor children. It then introduces the school which Ajay started.
Aisa Kyon?
1 min 51sec / 2007 / Original Language
A short drama devised and shot by girls at the school run by Ajay TG. The brief was to focus on an issue which affects them. In this film they chose discrimination in education. It was to have been the first of a series of such short dramas on various issues but the project has been interrupted by Ajay's imprisonment.
Photographs
5 mins 57 sec / 2007
A sequence of stills taken by girls in the school Ajay runs, put in order and set to music.
Golapalli: A Fact Finding by the PUCL
15 mins / 2004
Direction, Camera, Editing and Graphics by Ajay TG
This film describes an incident in which two school teachers and a student were killed by paramilitary forces in Golapalli, Tehsil Konta, District Bastar. The film is based on testimonies of the people of the village to a fact finding team of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties.
Jiramtarai: A Fact Finding by the PUCL
15 mins / 2004
Editing and Graphics by Ajay TG
Through interviews of peasant men and women of the village, this film investigates an incident when the CRPF ostensibly provoked by a mine blasted by Naxalites had entered into the fields and village of Jiramtarai and killed three people.
The Journey (Safar)
15 mins 7 sec / 2001 / English subtitles
Directed by Reeta Chandel and Ajay TG
A Jandarshan student film about Reeta's father, a porter in the hospital of the Bhilai Steel Plant. This film is a development of Reeta's 5 minute film, Papa Says, shot by Ajay, as part of an earlier student exercise. The Journey was made because Ajay felt that they should explore questions about marriage and gender which had come up by chance during the shooting of the earlier film.
Living Memory
33 mins 41sec / 2002 / English narration and subtitles
Directed by Shobha Ajay / Co-Directed and partly shot by Ajay TG
A Jandarshan student production, Living Memory is a personal, autobiographical film in which Shobha reflects on her roots in an Andhra Christian community, her marriage with Ajay, a Hindu from Kerala, and grieves for her beloved father who died of cancer during the filming.
Letters and Learning / English subtitles
41 mins / 2003
Directed by Ajay TG
A film about an elderly Satnami who got a job in the Bhilai Steel Plant in return for giving up land, and how he prospered, enabling his daughter to become a school teacher and his granddaughter a doctor. Ajay got to know him when working as Jonathan Parry's field assistant. This Jandarshan student film is not only a biography, but also a critique of attitudes to literacy and knowledge.
Bhook ke Virudh, Bhat ke liye . . . (That No One May Go Hungry)
49 mins / 2004 / Original Language
Direction, Camera, Editing and Graphics by Ajay TG
A documentary about food diversification and the right to food in India.
More information on the campaign as well as Ajay's work is available on
http://www.releaseajaytg.in/ajaytg.html
20 July, 2008
Film-makers rally in support of Ajay TG
The Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), led by Dadasaheb Phalke Award winners and eminent filmmakers Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Shyam Benegal, have condemned the arrest of independent filmmaker and journalist Ajay TG by the Chattisgarh police.
Speaking at the Osian Film Festival venue Siri Fort in New Delhi the Recipient of the Osian's Lifetime Achievement Award, renowned filmmaker Mrinal Sen signed the petition condemning Ajay TG's arrest.
Demanding Ajay TG's release, Mrinal Sen said, "I am with you. I wish I was 30 years younger so I could have physically joined you all in this campaign to secure the release of Ajay TG."
Earlier this week filmmakers, artists and activists distributed hundreds of RELEASE AJAY TG pamphlets at the opening ceremony of the 10th Osian's Cinefan - Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, in New Delhi.
Filmmakers across the country are now organising several Release Ajay TG film festivals where Ajay TG's films will be screened. Ajay TG's recent film 'Anjam' about the life and work of Dr Binayak Sen will also be screened.
Dr Binayak Sen, eminent doctor and social worker in Chattisgarh and General Secretary of the PUCL, was arrested in May 2007 and is still in prison. Both Dr Binayak Sen and film maker journalist Ajay TG have been charged under the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) .
The following is the text of the statement issued by the Committee for the Release of Ajay TG and endorsed by the trustees of The Public Service Broadcasting Trust:
We the undersigned strongly protest and condemn the arrest of independent documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist Ajay TG on the 5th of May 2008 by the Chattisgarh Police.
We reiterate that it is not possible to silence the voice of dissent, the expressions of our conscience or even the reporting of facts by intimidation, imprisonment and the politics of branding.
We feel that legislation's like the Chattisgarh State Special Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which are used to make such arrests, undermine not just democracy but also the flourishing of all artistic creativity.
Ajay TG has been put behind bars because he had the courage to show what he sees and tell what he feels in his short films. For that he is now in prison. He is not a member nor was he ever a member of any Maoist organisation. Dr Binayak Sen was also arrested an year ago on similar charges by the Chattisgrah police. Dr Sen has been denied bail and is in prison for over an year.
We demand the immediate release of Ajay TG from prison and the dropping of all charges against him.
Ajay TG has a right to make films.
Ajay TG has the right to show his films.
We have the right to see his films.
FOR MORE INFORMATION : www.releaseajaytg.in
Contact : AMAR KANWAR Email : amarkanwar@gmail.com
Speaking at the Osian Film Festival venue Siri Fort in New Delhi the Recipient of the Osian's Lifetime Achievement Award, renowned filmmaker Mrinal Sen signed the petition condemning Ajay TG's arrest.
Demanding Ajay TG's release, Mrinal Sen said, "I am with you. I wish I was 30 years younger so I could have physically joined you all in this campaign to secure the release of Ajay TG."
Earlier this week filmmakers, artists and activists distributed hundreds of RELEASE AJAY TG pamphlets at the opening ceremony of the 10th Osian's Cinefan - Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, in New Delhi.
Filmmakers across the country are now organising several Release Ajay TG film festivals where Ajay TG's films will be screened. Ajay TG's recent film 'Anjam' about the life and work of Dr Binayak Sen will also be screened.
Dr Binayak Sen, eminent doctor and social worker in Chattisgarh and General Secretary of the PUCL, was arrested in May 2007 and is still in prison. Both Dr Binayak Sen and film maker journalist Ajay TG have been charged under the Chattisgarh Special Public Security Act (CSPSA) .
The following is the text of the statement issued by the Committee for the Release of Ajay TG and endorsed by the trustees of The Public Service Broadcasting Trust:
We the undersigned strongly protest and condemn the arrest of independent documentary filmmaker and freelance journalist Ajay TG on the 5th of May 2008 by the Chattisgarh Police.
We reiterate that it is not possible to silence the voice of dissent, the expressions of our conscience or even the reporting of facts by intimidation, imprisonment and the politics of branding.
We feel that legislation's like the Chattisgarh State Special Security Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which are used to make such arrests, undermine not just democracy but also the flourishing of all artistic creativity.
Ajay TG has been put behind bars because he had the courage to show what he sees and tell what he feels in his short films. For that he is now in prison. He is not a member nor was he ever a member of any Maoist organisation. Dr Binayak Sen was also arrested an year ago on similar charges by the Chattisgrah police. Dr Sen has been denied bail and is in prison for over an year.
We demand the immediate release of Ajay TG from prison and the dropping of all charges against him.
Ajay TG has a right to make films.
Ajay TG has the right to show his films.
We have the right to see his films.
FOR MORE INFORMATION : www.releaseajaytg.in
Contact : AMAR KANWAR Email : amarkanwar@gmail.com
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