Ram Puniyani

Anti-Communalism Activist and Writer

Maharashtra

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 13^th June 2019 regarding the serious threats to noted scholar and anti-communalism activist Dr. Ram Puniyani.

On June 6, 2019, Dr. Puniyani received a phone call abusing him in filthy language and told him to stop his activities and leave. Five minutes later, he received another phone call from another number, where a male caller in an aggressive tone asked is Doctor there? When Dr. Puniyani replied in the negative, the caller cut the phone off. Earlier, on March 9, 2019, three unidentified persons had come to Dr. Puniyani’s residence on the pretext of making enquiries for his passport application. However, Dr. Puniyani nor his wife had applied for any passport. Dr. Puniyani accordingly filed a criminal complaint with Powai Police Station on this issue, however, the police has failed to take any real action to investigate into the complaint or identify the visitors, inspite of CCTV footage and other details being provided to the police. On June 6, too Dr. Puniyani had filed a criminal complaint with the Powai Police Station on June 7, 2019 and provided details of the phone numbers as recorded in the caller ID of his residence phone. On the same day, he has also met the Joint Commissioner, Law and Order, Mr. Vinoy K Choubey, along with a delegation consisting of other civil society activists to report this incident of intimidation and demanded speedy investigation into the crime and ensure safety of Dr. Puniyani. So far no one has been apprehended in the matter and Dr. Puniyani continues to remain exposed to danger.

HRDA has prayed immediate and transparent investigation along with ensuring protection to Mr. Puniyani at State’s cost.