Haemolymph: Invisible blood screening

On 17 June 2025, we, India Labour Solidarity, hosted a screening of the 2022 Hindi film Haemolymph: Invisible Blood at Pelican House, London. Directed by Sudarshan Gamre and featuring Marathi actor Riyaz Anwar in the lead role, the film chronicles the harrowing ordeal of Dr. Abdul Wahid Shaikh, a former primary school teacher wrongfully accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts of 2006.

Shaikh, who was arrested from Mumbai's Govandi suburb and spent nearly nine years in prison before being acquitted in 2015, was the only one among the 13 men initially charge-sheeted by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to walk free. The film sheds light on the custodial torture, coerced confessions, and fabricated evidence that underpinned the case, exposing deep-rooted Islamophobia within India’s state institutions and the long shadow of the global “War on Terror.”

Shaikh, who completed his PhD while continuing to campaign for the rights of undertrial prisoners, penned much of his book Begunah Qaidi (Innocent Prisoner) while incarcerated at Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail. His work details the systemic abuse faced by Muslim youth in India under the guise of counter-terrorism.

On 21 July 2025 , nearly two decades after the blasts , the Bombay High Court acquitted the remaining 12 accused. 

The screening was followed by a discussion Dr Sheikh, lead actor Dr Riyaz Anwar and lead researcher for the film Manish Singh, the discussion touched on carceral violence, institutional impunity, and the urgent need to dismantle caste and religious biases within the criminal justice system and with the message for progreesive organisation around the world to help increase the reach of injustices highlighted through further screenings and discussions