Baroda dynamite case is the term used for the criminal case launched by the Indira Gandhi government in India during the Emergency against the opposition leader George Fernandes and 24 others. [1]
The Central Bureau of Investigation charged George and others of smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments and railway tracks in protest against state of emergency. They were also charged with waging war against the state to overthrow the government. The accused were arrested in June 1976 and imprisoned in Tihar Jail, Delhi.
The other prominent accused included Viren J. Shah, G.G. Parikh, C.G.K. Reddy, [2] Prabhudas Patwari, Devi Gujjar and Motilal Kanojia. The case was tried in Delhi, as the CBI argued that even though the site of the incident was Baroda, the case had national ramifications.
Fernandes fought the 1977 Lok Sabha election from Muzaffarpur in Bihar while in jail under trial in the case. He swept the polls, with his supporters campaigning with his photo in prison cage and chains. Janata Party withdrew the case on coming to power in 1977 and all accused were released. [3]
Snehalata Reddy was an Indian actress. Snehalata and her husband participated in the anti-Emergency movement. [4] Snehalata was a close friend of George Fernandes and was arrested on 2 May 1976. She was arrested for being a part of the Baroda dynamite case; however, while George Fernandes and many others were made accused in the case, Snehalata's name was not on the final charge-sheet. Even so, she was kept as a prisoner, where she was regularly tortured and was confined to live in inhuman conditions in prison at Bengaluru. When later her health deteriorated, she was released on parole on 15 January 1977. But she died five days after her release on parole due to chronic asthma and lung infection on 20 January 1977, being one of the first martyrs of the Emergency. [1]
Michael Lawrence Tyler, better known by his stage name Mystikal, is an American rapper and actor from Louisiana. He initially gained fame in the mid-1990s as an artist under Master P's regionally successful independent label, No Limit Records. Mystikal is known for brash, obstreperous vocal delivery characterized by a distinctive rasp, as well as his 2000 singles: "Shake Ya Ass" and "Danger ". The songs reached numbers 13 and 14 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded his fourth album, Let's Get Ready (2000), which peaked the Billboard 200 upon release.
Lori Helene Berenson is an American who served a 20-year prison sentence for collaboration with a guerrilla organization in Peru in 1996. Berenson was convicted of collaborating with the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), a group accused of trying to overthrow the Peruvian government by force, considered to be a terrorist organization by the Peruvian government, and on the U.S. State Department's official "terrorist organization" list from 1997–2001. Her arrest and conviction, and the circumstances surrounding her trials, drew considerable attention in both the United States and Peru.
The Janata Party was a political party in India. It was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress. In the 1977 general election, the party defeated the Congress and Janata leader Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress prime minister in independent modern India's history.
George Mathew Fernandes was an Indian trade unionist, statesman, and journalist, who served as the 22nd Defence Minister of India from 1998 until 2004. He was a member of Lok Sabha for over 30 years, starting from Bombay in 1967 till 2009 mostly representing constituencies from Bihar. He was a key member of the Janata Dal and the founder of the Samata Party, now led by Uday Mandal its President. He held several ministerial portfolios including communication, industry, railways, and defence. In 2020, he was posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.
Orlando Bosch Ávila was a Cuban exile militant, who headed the Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations (CORU), described by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation as a terrorist organization. Born in Cuba, Bosch attended medical school at the University of Havana, where he befriended Fidel Castro. He worked as a doctor in Santa Clara Province in the 1950s, but moved to Miami in 1960 after he stopped supporting the Cuban Revolution.
Bilal Skaf is a serial gang rapist who led groups of Lebanese-Australian men to commit gang rape attacks against women and girls in Sydney in 2000.
The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country.
Tihar Prisons, also called Tihar Jail and Tihar Ashram, is a prison complex in India and one of the largest complex of prisons in India. It has 9 functional prisons spread over more than 400 acres. Run by Department of Delhi Prisons, Government of Delhi, the prison contains nine central prisons, and is one of the three prison complexes in Delhi. The other two prison complexes are at Rohini and Mandoli with one and six central prisons respectively. Tihar prison complex is located in Janakpuri, approximately 3 km from Tihar village in West Delhi.
Siddharth Vashisht, better known as Manu Sharma, is a murderer of Indian origin, convicted in 2006 to serve life imprisonment for the 1999 murder of Jessica Lal. He was released in June 2020. Sharma is the son of the former Indian National Congress leader, Venod Sharma, and the brother of media baron, Kartikeya Sharma.
Jessica Lal was a model in New Delhi who was working as a celebrity barmaid at a crowded socialite party when she was shot dead at around 2:00 am on 30 April 1999. Dozens of witnesses pointed to Siddharth Vashisht, also known as Manu Sharma, the son of Venod Sharma, a wealthy and influential Member of Parliament from Haryana, as the murderer. Manu Sharma was later convicted for the murder and sentenced to life.
Pendyala Varavara Rao is an Indian activist, poet, teacher, and writer from Telangana, India. He is an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and has been arrested under the non-bailable Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Rao was arrested on the charge of plotting to assassinate Indian prime minister, possibly based upon planted evidence. In August 2022, he was released on bail by the Supreme Court of India, on medical grounds.
Gaidinliu Pamei popularly known as Rani Gaidinliu was a Naga spiritual and political leader who led a revolt against British rule in India. At the age of 13, she joined the Heraka religious movement of her cousin Haipou Jadonang. The movement later turned into a political movement seeking to drive out the British from Manipur and the surrounding Naga areas. Within the Heraka faith, she came to be considered an incarnation of the Goddess Cherachamdinliu. Gaidinliu was arrested in 1932 at the age of 16, and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the British rulers. Jawaharlal Nehru met her at Shillong Jail in 1937, and promised to pursue her release. Nehru gave her the title of "Rani" ("Queen"), and she gained local popularity as Rani Gaidinliu.
Viren J. Shah was an Indian politician and businessman. He served as the 17th Governor of West Bengal from 1999 to 2004.
The premiership of Morarji Desai extended from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979. In the 1977 Indian general election Morarji Desai led the Janata Party to victory against the Congress party. Upon taking office, Morarji Desai became the first Indian Prime Minister not belonging to the Congress party.
Snehalatha Reddy was an Indian actress, producer and social activist known for her works in Kannada cinema, Kannada theatre, Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. She was arrested over her involvement in the Baroda dynamite case and imprisoned for over 8 months during the Emergency in India. She was the co-founder of the Madras Players in the 1960s, the amateur group that staged memorable productions like Ibsen's Peer Gynt, directed by Douglas Alger, besides Twelfth Night and Tennessee William's Night of the Iguana, directed by Peter Coe. Besides, she acted in, directed, or produced plays such as A View from the Bridge and The House of Bernarda Alba. In 2003, her husband Pattabhirama Reddy presented - In the Hour of God, a play based on Sri Aurobindo's classic Savitri, inspired by the mythical woman who defied death for love, which he dedicated to Snehalata Reddy.
Lawrence Fernandes was a socialist political leader from India. He was brother of George Fernandes.
Jaya Jaitly is an Indian politician, activist, author, Indian handicrafts curator and former President of Samata Party.
Safoora Zargar is an Indian student activist leader from Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir, best known for her role in the Citizenship Amendment Act protests.
Ishrat Jahan is a practising advocate and former municipal councillor for the Indian National Congress in Delhi who is an accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and was granted bail on 14 March 2022 after her incarceration since February 2020.
Lyle Richard Brummett is an American serial killer who raped and killed three women in Texas from 1975 to 1976, two with the help of accomplice Allen Ladd Woody. Charged with two of the killings in exchange for testifying against Woody, Brummett had one of the murder charges dropped and was sentenced to life imprisonment.