Two prisoners facing charges in cases linked, according to Indian authorities, to the Maoist insurgency, staged a one-day hunger strike on July 5, 2026, the fifth anniversary of Father Stan Swamy’s death. Surendra Gadling, a lawyer and defendant in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case, and Dinkar Gota, prosecuted in a case related to an alleged Maoist attack in Gadchiroli, denounced institutional repression as responsible for the Jesuit priest’s death in custody in 2021.
The two men, prosecuted in cases related respectively to the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case and an alleged attack in Gadchiroli, denounced institutional repression which they believe is responsible for Stan Swamy’s death. This action also aims to demand justice for political prisoners and to maintain the memory of Stan Swamy’s commitment to the rights of indigenous Adivasis communities, Dalits and disadvantaged populations.