Human Rights Activist & Elgar Parishad Case Accused Father Stan Swamy Dies At 84

"It is with a very heavy heart I have to inform you that Father Stan Swamy has passed away", Dr Dsouza of Holy Family hospital Mumbai, where Stan Swamy was admitted for treatment.

Fr. Stan Swamy (Image Source: PTI)

Mumbai: Tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, 84, who was arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad case and was accused of instigating the Bhima Koregaon caste violence, passed away on July 5th.

Swamy, died at 1.30 pm on Monday, Dr Ian D'Souza, director of the Holy Family Hospital in suburban Bandra, told the HC's division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar.

Stan Lourduswamy, popularly known as Stan Swamy, was an Indian Roman Catholic priest was arrested and chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and links to the Communist Party of India (Maoist).  The cleric was the sixteenth person to be arrested in the case, in which people have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror law UAPA.

The tribal rights activist was admitted to the private hospital on May 29 from the Taloja prison following the HC's order on a petition filed by him, seeking medical attention as he was then suffering from COVID-19 and Parkinson's disease.

According to a Live Law repot, the bench comprising Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar took up Stan Swamy's bail application at around 2:30 PM today, Senior Advocate Mihir Desai, his counsel, said that the doctor who was treating the jailed Jesuit priest wanted to say something.

"It is with a very heavy heart I have to inform you that Father Stan Swamy has passed away", Dr Dsouza of Holy Family hospital Mumbai, where Stan Swamy was admitted for treatment, told the bench.

"On Saturday he went into cardiac arrest at 4:30am, we couldn't revive him", the doctor added. The doctor informed that Swamy was declared dead at 1:30 PM today.

"With all humility at our command, we are sorry to know that he has passed away . We are shocked. We passed orders for his hospital admission on the first day", the bench observed.