HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI: The family members of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, who passed away on Saturday night, have decided to donate his mortal remains to the state-run Gandhi Hospital.
The 58-year-old noted rights activist breathed his last following postoperative complications after undergoing surgery for gallbladder stones at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad on Saturday. Saibaba is survived by wife and a daughter.
Immediately after his death, Saibaba’s family members donated his eyes to LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI).
In March, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted wheel-chair bound Saibaba in the alleged Maoist links case booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court also set aside his life sentence.
The professor, who had 90 per cent physical disability, was initially arrested by the Maharashtra police in the case on May 9, 2014. He had been in prison till 2016 under judicial custody before being released on bail. After his conviction and sentencing in 2017 by a sessions court, he was again sent back to the Nagpur central prison.
During his recent media interaction in Hyderabad, Saibaba alleged that his health had deteriorated beyond recovery due to the ill-treatment he was subjected to by the police and jail authorities from the day of his arrest.
“We invite everyone to join us and remember him fondly on this day. Afterwards, his body will be donated to the hospital as per his wishes,” a release from his family read. “That has always been his wish to donate his body,” Saibaba’s daughter Manjeera told the media.
She said that they didn’t expect her father’s sudden demise as she was speaking to him about the medical procedures till a day before. “None of us, including my father, anticipated something like this would have happened. I still cannot believe he is not with us,” Majeera said, standing next to her mother Vasantha.
In a statement in Delhi, Democratic Teachers’ Front stated, “Repeated denial of bail for medical treatment to someone who had suffered 90 per cent disability since birth and denial of bail or parole to see his mother before her death contrast grotesquely with parole for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted of rape and murder, for the 14th time during the last four years. This unequal treatment is deliberate on part of government as much it is a complete failure of judiciary.”
Saibaba’s mortal remains will be first taken to the Telangana Martyrs Memorial and then to his brother’s residence for public to pay their homage.