HYDERABAD: Former Delhi University faculty, Professor GN Saibaba, who was imprisoned for around 10 years for alleged links with Maoists and later acquitted by the Bombay High Court, on Friday opined that one of the reasons he was arrested was that he was part of a campaign against ‘Operation Green Hunt’ under the banner of ‘Forum Against War on People’ between 2010 to 2024.
Prof Saibaba was accused of links with banned Left Wing Extremist organisations and was convicted by a sessions court in 2017 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was acquitted of the charges under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on October 14, 2022.
Speaking to reporters during a “meet the press” programme organised by the Telangana State Union of Working Journalists here, the human rights activist said that top police officials including the Gadchiroli SP (Special Operations) and 50 other officers visited his residence in Delhi three times to issue threats of arrest if he doesn’t stop participating in the campaign.
“The Maharashtra police and other agencies threatened to arrest me if I did not stop my legitimate work, and they did. One of the officers told me that I would be the right person to create terror among the people to stay away from activism. But they failed to dissuade me,” he said.
Prof Saibaba said that his nervous system was damaged during the process of his arrest and no treatment was allowed.
“I always look forward to the future. I don’t regret my past 10 years. I am not going to lose anything. And, I can recover,” he said.
Speaking about the pathetic conditions in the jail, he said that even criminals shouldn’t be jailed in such conditions. “Never in my life had I felt that I am a disabled person. But the jail authorities made me realise that I am disabled for the first time in my life,” he said.
Prof Saibaba also narrated how his bail petitions, applications for parole to attend his mother’s funeral were rejected, and how he was made to languish in solitary confinement. He said that the Maharashtra jail manual allows jail authorities to use “mild torture” to discipline the inmates, which was against the Constitution. He also said that the jail authorities assign work to inmates based on their caste.
Answering a question on whether the conditions changed in Telangana after formation of separate state, the professor said that the region has been freed from the clutches of rulers of two castes and one region.