Dear Mr Patnaik,

We have just heard that a false case (Case Number 95/2015 dated 09/08/2015) has been filed against Deba Ranjan, member of Ganatantrik Adhikar Surakhya Sangathan by the Malkangiri police. Deba has made excellent films on communal violence in Kandhamal and on assault on adivasi homelands in Malkangiri. He has worked with famed human rights activist K Balagopal on several fact-finding missions. Police is following standard operating procedure whenever somebody has the chutzpah to expose the depredations of the state and the brutality of the police and security forces - slap enough false charges against them and effectively silence them. We demand that all these charges be immediately dropped.