When former Rajya Sabha MP and senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat and Jai Kisan Andolan leader Amit Bhatnagar met Divya Ahirwar at Panna district jail on Tuesday, they found a young activist unwilling to seek bail.

Ahirwar, a municipal councillor from Bijawar in Chhatarpur district and a law student , told them she wanted to continue fighting for displaced families from inside prison.

“I will continue the struggle from jail,” she said, according to a statement issued by the Jai Kisan Sangathan after the meeting.

Ahirwar has been in jail since her arrest in September. Her detention has become a focal point of the Chita Andolan, a protest against the displacement of families linked to the Ken-Betwa Link Project and other infrastructure schemes in Bundelkhand. The movement has demanded fair compensation, proper rehabilitation and action on complaints that families were excluded from surveys or evicted without settling their claims.

Her refusal to seek bail has given the agitation a new focus.…