# Activists demand Governor act on mining protest arrests

> Human rights campaigners ask Odisha's Governor to free people detained for opposing bauxite mining in tribal areas.
- Title: Activists demand Governor act on mining protest arrests
- Summary: Human rights campaigners ask Odisha's Governor to free people detained for opposing bauxite mining in tribal areas. Human rights activists petitioned…
- Keywords: odisha, bauxite mining, sijimali, kalahandi, rayagada, vedanta group, human rights, tribal rights, police arrests, environmental activism, news, politics
- Source: The Hindu — https://thehindu.com/news/national/odisha/activists-seek-governors-intervention-for-release-of-people-arrested-in-odishas-bauxite-region/article71604731.ece
- Author: The Hindu Bureau
- Published: 2026-10-20T14:40:19+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: odisha, bauxite mining, sijimali, kalahandi, rayagada, vedanta group, human rights, tribal rights, police arrests, environmental activism, news, politics
## Activists petition Governor over arrests
Human rights activists have asked Odisha Governor Braj Mohan Ram to intervene after police arrested people opposing Sijimali bauxite mining in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts.
## Police using false charges, activists say
Prafulla Samantara, who sent a petition to the Governor on Monday, October nineteenth, twenty twenty-six, said police are making indiscriminate arrests on false and fabricated criminal charges.

> People have the right to carry out peaceful protests.
## Two activists picked up in Kalahandi
Randall Sequeira and Laxman Naik, associated with resistance to the Vedanta Group's mining project, were picked up from Bhabanipatna in Kalahandi district on October sixteenth. Family members and lawyers were not allowed access.
## Tribal leader faces old charges
Tribal leader Lada Sikaka of Niyamgiri is facing several non-bailable charges in old cases in which his name did not figure in the charge-sheets, Samantara said.
## Gram Sabhas rejected the mining plan
Although Gram Sabhas rejected the mining proposal in the Niyamgiri hill range and there has been no agitation by tribals, they are being unnecessarily targeted, Samantara said.
## Activists call for Governor's intervention
Samantara urged Odisha Governor to review police action and intervene to secure the release of the activists, who he described as victims of police repression.
## Key takeaway

Human rights activists petitioned Odisha's Governor on October nineteenth to free people arrested for opposing Sijimali bauxite mining in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, alleging police are using false charges to suppress legitimate protest.