Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba passes away at 54

He was suffering from gall bladder infection and was operated on two weeks ago but developed complications subsequently

Hyderabad: Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba died at a state-run hospital here due to post-operative complications on Saturday, seven months after he was acquitted in an alleged Maoist links case. He was 54.

Saibaba was suffering from gall bladder infection and was operated on two weeks ago but developed complications subsequently. He breathed his last around 9 pm on Saturday, an official said. He was admitted to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) for the last 20 days.

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In March, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted Saibaba and five others in the alleged Maoist links case, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against him. The court also set aside his life sentence.

It had held as “null and void” the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Following his acquittal, the wheelchair-bound Saibaba walked out of the Nagpur Central Jail after 10 years. Saibaba had alleged in August this year that he was not taken to a hospital for nine months by authorities despite the left side of his body getting paralysed and was just given painkillers in the Nagpur Central Jail, where he was lodged since his arrest in the case in 2014.

The former English professor had claimed he was “kidnapped” and arrested by the police in order to silence his voice. A native of Andhra Pradesh, Saibaba had said that he was warned by the authorities that if he did not stop “talking” he would be arrested in some false case.

He had alleged that he was “kidnapped” from Delhi and arrested by Maharashtra Police. Senior officers of Maharashtra Police along with an investigating officer had gone to his house and threatened him and his family, he had claimed.

He had alleged that Maharashtra Police dragged him out of his wheelchair during the course of arrest and as a result, he suffered a serious injury in his hand which also impacted his nervous system. CPI MLA K Sambasiva Rao condoled Saibaba’s death and said it was a loss to society.