Arrested in 2014, the physically challenged assistant professor had to remain in jail under "brutal" conditions for 10 years before justice — so far denied — was served to him.
Published Oct 12, 2024 | 11:42 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 13, 2024 | 10:30 PM
File picture of GN Saibaba addressing the media. (Screengrab)
GN Saibaba, who passed away in Hyderabad on Saturday, 12 October, had expressed wish that he would be reinstated in Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College after his acquittal in the Maoist link case.
Arrested in 2014, the physically challenged assistant professor had to remain in jail under “brutal” conditions for 10 years before justice — so far denied — was served to him.
Speaking to reporters in Hyderabad on 23 August, Saibaba expressed his wish — in vain — to return to academia after 10 years of “wrongful imprisonment”.
“I can’t live without teaching,” he said while hoping that Ram Lal Anand College would reinstate him.
The college terminated his services in March 2021 “as per existing rules” after the Gadchiroli sessions court had convicted him and five others in 2017. The college had earlier placed him under suspension following his arrest in 2014.
“The services of GN Saibaba, Assistant Professor, Ram Lal Anand College, are terminated with effect from the afternoon of 31st day of March 2021. Three months’ salary has been paid in his Savings Bank Account.” college principal Rakesh Kumar Gupta said in a note sent to Saibaba’s family.
Saibaba felt that his release was by chance. “It is only by chance that I could come out alive,” he told reporters.
He reported that his health was in poor condition and stressed the need for immediate medical treatment, noting that he struggled significantly during his imprisonment, as he was wheelchair-bound and unable to perform basic tasks independently.
Earlier, his wife Vasantha Kumari had said that Saibaba, with 90 percent disability, was suffering from several life-threatening diseases, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with left ventricular dysfunction, hypertension, kidney stones, a cyst in his brain, pancreatic problems, attenuation of the shoulder and arm muscles, and nerves resulting in partial paralysis of his upper limbs.
After his release, Saibaba could not believe he was free. “I feel like I’m still in jail,” He criticised the legal proceedings against him, calling them fabricated and lacking factual basis, and pointed out that both the trial court and higher judiciary had previously confirmed there was no evidence to support the charges.
He described his time in prison as an “agni pariksha” and lamented the years lost due to wrongful imprisonment.
Saibaba had then criticised the legal system, arguing that the prosecution failed to provide credible evidence against him, resulting in what he called “justice delayed”.
He also spoke about being denied parole to attend his mother’s funeral, calling it a profound personal tragedy.
Saibaba highlighted the inhumane conditions in the prison, including overcrowding and a lack of accessibility for disabled inmates like himself.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
