DU professor GN Saibaba is a Maoist leader: Maharashtra Police Arunima,

CNN-IBN | Updated Sep 19, 2013 at 03:46pm IST

Is GN Saibaba, the wheelchair-bound professor of English in one of the country’s premier university, the new face of Naxalism? Last week, the Maharashtra Police raided the home of Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, alleging that he is an active member of the banned CPI-Maoist. Police officials claimed Saibaba was named by JNU student Hem Mishra, who was arrested earlier in September for being a courier between Saibaba and the Maoists based in Abujmad, Chhattisgarh.

According to RG Kadam, DIG, Gadchiroli, Hem Mishra was carrying some explicit documents and named Saibaba. “We have enough evidence against him,” he said. Saibaba accepts that he knows Hem Mishra and his alleged accomplice Prashan Rahi arrested on the same charges as Mishra. But he denies having ever sent any letter to the CPI-Maoist. He said, “I don’t think communicating with the Maoist is a crime. But I myself have never done it.”

The Gadchiroli police claim that Saibaba runs an organisation called Revolutionary Democratic Front, which is a front for the CPI-Maoist. He is known in Maoist circles as Prashant alias Chetan and he uses these names to interact and hatch conspiracies with over ground Maoists through online chat forums. The police also claim that not just Hem Mishra, but two other arrested Maoist leaders Kobad Gandhy and Bacha Prasad Singh have also named Saibaba as their urban contact. Saibaba vehemently denies these charges. He said, “I have never heard of Bacha Singh. But I know Kobad. They have chargesheeted me in that case. But Kobad doesn’t know Telugu and the police claim that his letter to me about the Maoist activities were in Telugu.”

Saibaba claims 50 policemen from Gadchiroli police, Delhi police, IB and other security and intelligence agencies raided his Delhi University residence on September 12. They searched his house for 3 hours, but asked no questions.

CNN-IBN has learnt that Gadchiroli police has sent summons to Saibaba asking him to join the investigation as soon as possible.

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