At his first press conference after his release, he spoke about his ordeal and how the State has been muffling the voice of dissent. Prasanna D Zore reports.

The sarcasm in 40-year-old Arun Ferreira’s voice is not completely misplaced.

It comes naturally to somebody who has been branded a Maoist/Naxalite and tortured in jail — slapped, kicked and made to stretch.

It comes naturally to somebody who has been fighting the system and pleading his innocence.

It comes naturally to somebody who breathes fresh air after having spent more than 50 months in jail and was then acquitted by various courts in ten out of 11 cases.

It comes naturally to somebody who is pouring his heart out about his ordeal in prison, his release from prison after the court’s order in September 2011 and immediate ‘abduction by the police’ in Nagpur, and somebody who has seen the system work against the innocents.

Arun Ferreira, a native of Bandra, the upmarket northwest Mumbai suburb, was first arrested from Nagpur on May 8, 2007 under the Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act for his alleged links with the Maoists.

At his first press conference after his release on bail on January 5, he answered questions that were asked to him by friends and family ever since his release.

Over to Arun…

Arun’s story on Rediff.com