Dr Randall Sequeira, a Mumbai-raised doctor associated with Harsh Mander’s Karwan-e-Mohabbat, was arrested by Odisha Police in October 2026 over his alleged role in instigating violence during an anti-mining protest in Rayagada district. He faces charges including attempt to murder and rioting, as reported in OpIndia.
Police have rejected allegations that the arrest is an attempt to suppress dissent. According to the police, Sequeira was not merely providing medical assistance to tribal communities but was allegedly inciting them against the state government.
The case relates to a violent clash between tribals and police in Kantamal village in April 2026. The confrontation took place during a protest against the construction of an approach road to the Sijimali bauxite reserve. The clash left people on both sides injured.
Police arrested Sequeira and another man, Laxman Naik, from Sequeira’s residence in Bhawanipatna, Kalahandi district, on the night of 16 October 2026. Both were subsequently placed in judicial custody.
According to police, neither man was named in the original FIR registered after the clash. Their alleged involvement emerged during the subsequent investigation.
DIG Singh defended the arrests, stating, “The arrested persons were not innocent.”
He alleged that Sequeira was not providing medical services to people but was instead instigating tribals against the state government. He also accused Naik of misleading people.
The officer questioned why a doctor would be arrested if he were genuinely working to treat patients. He added that several doctors work in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts, but no other doctor had been arrested in connection with the case.
Police have also referred to other pending cases against Sequeira, including allegations that he instigated tribal women to make false allegations against the state government. These remain allegations and must be assessed through the legal process.
Sequeira’s Background And Association With Karwan-e-Mohabbat
Sequeira, 39, grew up in Mumbai. He completed his MBBS at St John’s Medical College in Bengaluru and earned an MD in Internal Medicine from Sawai Man Singh Medical College and Hospital in Rajasthan.
His arrest comes against the backdrop of his reported association with Karwan-e-Mohabbat, a campaign founded by George Soros’s advisor Harsh Mander in 2017. The group was also involved in mobilising support for the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Sequeira was associated with the team behind Karwan-e-Mohabbat’s report on the 2023 Manipur violence, published under the title The Humanitarian Crisis in Manipur – A Report by Karwan-e-Mohabbat.
The report criticised the handling of the violence by the state government and alleged that authorities were “culpably absent”, pointing to what it described as a “visible disparity” in the treatment of relief camps. It contrasted the support provided to Meitei camps with the reliance of Kuki-Zo camps on church networks.
The report’s framing of the conflict and its assessment of the state government drew criticism from those who argued that it did not adequately account for the experiences and concerns of the Meitei community. The report’s claims and conclusions remain matters of public debate.
Sequeira’s Criticism Of The Indian State
Sequeira has also written on political and social issues. In an article titled The Inheritors of the Land, published in The New Leader, he compared the Indian State to the “Pharisees” and “Sadducees”.
A lot of support is coming out for Dr. Randall Sequeira. Let’s see the company that this guy keeps.
Randall Sequeira is associated with Harsh Mander’s Karwan-e-Mohabbat, the group that was heavily involved in the Shaheen Bagh Protests.
Sequeria was also comparing the Indian State to “Pharisees” and “Sadducees, basically Christian terms for Jewish classes who collaborated with the Roman Empire.
Under these circumstances, the accusations against him by the Odisha Police seem VERY believable.
— Sensei Kraken Zero (@YearOfTheKraken) October 25, 2026
The terms refer to Jewish religious groups from the Second Temple period. In the article’s political context, the comparison invokes groups portrayed as collaborating with the Roman Empire.
Sequeira has also contributed articles to leftist propaganda outlet The Wire.
His writings and activism reflect a record of criticism directed at state institutions.
Earlier Exclusion Order Over Sijimali Protest
Sequeira had previously come under scrutiny over his involvement in anti-mining mobilisation in Odisha.
In 2025, the district administration issued an order barring him from entering Rayagada ahead of a planned protest against mining at Sijimali.
The Orissa High Court subsequently quashed the exclusion order. However, the ruling did not exempt Sequeira from criminal proceedings.
The earlier dispute and the current arrest both concern his involvement in activism surrounding the Sijimali mining project. The latest case, however, rests on allegations linked to the April 2026 clash in Kantamal village.
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