After completing his medical studies, Randall Sequeira chose a path less travelled. Leaving behind Mumbai, where he grew up, Sequeira moved to Odisha’s Kalahandi district, where basic healthcare remains out of reach for many tribals.

While he worked to improve healthcare access for locals, Sequeira (39) was, like several other activists, vocal against bauxite mining in the region.

Around 11 pm on October 16, Sequeira and another anti-mining activist, Laxman Naik, were picked up by the Kalahandi police from the former’s house at Bhawanipatna. Officers handed them over to the Rayagada police, and Sequeira is now in judicial custody in the sub-jail there, charged with offences ranging from attempt to murder and rioting to possession of arms.

Speaking to The Indian Express , Inspector General, south-western range, Akhileshvar Singh said the arrests were undertaken to maintain law and order in the region.

Randall Sequeira visits patients in Odisha.…