Mumbai. Gadhchiroli Police allegedly found Professor Saibaba and others of possessing documents related to banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist). A sessions court in Gadhchiroli on Tuesday sentenced life imprisonment to Delhi University Professor G N Saibaba and five others under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Gadchiroli Police had arrested Saibaba in 2014 for his alleged links with Maoists. He was granted bail June 2015. Gadhchiroli Police allegedly found Professor Saibaba and others of possessing documents related to banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist). The police alleged Professor of waging a war against India. Apart from G N Saibaba, the court also convicted JNU student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi and three others. Mishra and Rahi were arrested in Aheri and Chattisgarh in 2015.
Prashant Sathiyanathan, Special Public Prosecutor told – We told the court that the sanction was secured from the state government after submission of documents and material that establish the complicity of the three accused in the activities furthering the cause of the banned organization.
However, the matter from the very beginning irked many civil society activists who alleged Maharashtra Police of misusing Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Renowned novelist Arundhati Roy criticised the denial of bail to the wheel-chair bound Professor. The Bombay High Court had on December 23, 2015 issued the contempt notice against the author, for her views on Saibaba’s arrest and rejection of his bail plea.
