Dr Randall Sequeira

Randall Sequeira grew up in Mumbai and studied medicine.  But a year of compulsory rural service changed the direction of his life. He saw how difficult it was for Adivasi communities to access healthcare. This led him to settle in Odisha, where he began working in the districts of Kalahandi and Rayagada.

Moved by the lack of medical access in rural India during his mandatory college service, he relocated to Odisha's Kalahandi district in 2017. For nearly a decade, he rode his motorcycle through remote, forested settlements in Kalahandi and Rayagada, treating illnesses like malaria, tuberculosis, and malnutrition entirely free of cost. He is a member of public health groups like the Medico Friends Circle and Jan Swasthya Abhiyan. Over the years, Dr Sequeira became a vocal supporter of local Adivasi and Dalit communities resisting corporate bauxite mining in the Sijimali and Kutrumali hills. On October 16, police took Dr Sequeira from his home in Bhawanipatna, along with a Dalit activist. Their arrests are linked to a case arising from protests against the proposed Sijimali bauxite mining project associated with Vedanta. The arrests have since drawn criticism from civil rights groups, activists and supporters. Investigators allege that Dr Sequeira and his companion instigated villagers to attack security forces. The charges against them include attempted murder, rioting, dacoity and offences under the Arms Act. According to some of his well-wishers, Dr Randall Sequeira would have been the ‘toast of the nation’ elsewhere.
Originally from Mangaluru, Karnataka, Dr 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 in Rajasthan.

*Collected from various sources.

*Updated on 01/11/2026