Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren broke his silence and defended Stan Swamy late on Friday night, almost 24 hours after the 82-year-old social Jesuit priest and social worker was picked up from his Ranchi home by the National Investigating Agency.

Describing Swamy as a “stalwart among rights activists”, Hemant used his official Twitter handle to speak out. “Why is the Centre hellbent on stifling all the pro-poor, pro-tribal and pro-Dalit voices in the country? What message does it want to give by arresting Stan Swamy, who has been among the strongest voices of all those marginalised in the state and country,” he tweeted in Hindi.

Swamy, known for working towards the uplift of tribals, was picked from his residence in Ranchi by NIA for alleged links with Maoists allegedly involved in the violence at Bhima Koregaon in Pune December 2017.

Earlier on Friday, the Church and several rights organisations came out in support of Swamy and questioned the Hemant government’s silence on the manner of his arrest. They appealed to the chief minister to come out openly against the arrest of the octogenarian by the central agency at night and without a formal warrant.

Activists also staged a protest at Albert Ekka Chowk holding banners and posters in support of Swamy, who was among the eight to be charge-sheeted by NIA on Friday in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence. The NIA, which is probing the case, has accused Swamy of being a part of CPI (Maoists) and one of the key conspirators behind the violence. Swamy has denied the accusations.

A joint statement, issued under the aegis of Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha and endorsed by over 2,000 activists, stated that Swamy had cooperated with investigating officers of the NIA when they questioned him at his residence in Bagaicha for over 15 hours on two occasions between July 27-30 and August 6. They also dubbed the case against him and other activists as false and fabricated.

Economist Jean Dreze, one of the firsts to condemn the NIA’s high-handedness, said, “We strongly condemn the arrest of Stan Swamy in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. He is a valued and public-spirited citizen and has been working for tribal rights since decades in Jharkhand. We are demanding, to both the state and central governments, to release him.”

Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, the auxiliary bishop of Ranchi, in his statement appealed to citizens to stand by Swamy in his hour of need. He also appealed to the authorities concerned to release the octogenarian immediately. “We are distressed and troubled by the manner in which such an elderly person has been treated by NIA. A clarification from NIA would be greatly appreciated,” he said.