Professor G.N. Saibaba, who taught English at the Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College, was arrested in May 2014 by the Maharashtra police on his way back home from work on alleged links with Maoists. Saibaba, who is 90% disabled and uses a wheelchair, has been accused of being the “urban contact” for Maoists.
He was granted bail by the Supreme Court earlier this week on medical grounds and was released from the Nagpur jail on Thursday. On his release, Saibaba spoke with The Sunday Guardian over an email interview from Nagpur.
Q. You had not been keeping well in jail and needed medical attention regularly. Did you receive due care?
A. I was not given any treatment by jail authorities despite the orders issued by courts.
Q. The charges against you are grave and you have been booked under thee Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act…
A. Many a senior counsel at the Supreme Court, who studied the charge-sheet, termed the charges as specious.
Q. You had allegedly been part of movements, be it the Radical Students’ union movements or the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) movement which has been linked to Maoists. How do you justify that you had no contact or connection with Maoists?
A. I have been a people’s activist and have been part of people’s movements which are larger in scope with wider democratic and progressive forces. Such allegations are baseless.
Q. Did you ever meet any Maoist leaders?
A. This is like a question the police love to ask me. But the irony is that no Maoist leader ever offered me to meet.