Activists and civil society organisations from across the country are up in arms over the arrest of Lingaraj Azad, the leader of Niyamgiri Suraksha Samiti (NSS), which spearheaded the movement against bauxite mining by aluminium major Vedanta in the Niyamgiri hills, considered sacred by the local Dongria Kondhs. Terming the arrest of Azad, who is also the national vice president of Samajwadi Jan Parishad and national convenor of National Alliance for People’s Movements (NAPM), undemocratic, vindictive and politically motivated, they have demanded his immediate release and dropping of all ‘cooked up’ charges against him. They have also drawn the attention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) and the United Nations special rapporteur seeking their intervention in the matter.