DU prof Saibaba, 4 others get life for Maoist links

A Sessions Court in Maharashtra on Tuesday held suspended Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five others guilty of having "links" with Maoists and "waging war" against India. The wheelchair-bound Saibaba, 50, and four of the other accused were awarded a life sentence by the Principal District and Sessions Court, Gadchiroli, Maharahstra.

They were all found guilty of having links with the banned CPI (Maoist) and its front organisation Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF).

JNU student Hem Mishra, 35, former journalist Prashant Rahi, 57, Mahesh Tirki, 25, and Pandu Narote, 30, received life terms, while Vijay Tirki, 30, who was accused of acting as a courier for the others, was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.

In an 827-page long judgment, Judge SS Shinde convicted the accused under Sections 13, 18, 20 (read with Section 120-B of IPC), 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. All the accused have been directed to surrender their bail bonds.

The court has also directed the police to nab absconding accused Narmadakka and Nadar.

After the verdict was pronounced, Saibaba, Mishra, Rahi and Vijat Tirki said they had nothing to say. However Mahesh Tirki and Pandu Narote sought leniency on account of being farmers and the sole breadwinners in their families.

The court observed that Saibaba – who is 90 per cent disabled – Mishra and Rahi denied being in touch with each other but that their mobile call records proved otherwise. It also accepted the prosecution's argument that in case of conspiracy, direct evidence is rarely available and conspiracy is proven by circumstantial evidence.

"Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that all the six accused hatched a conspiracy to wage war against India," the judgment read.

Earlier in the day, the prosecution had contended that all six accused had conspired to "destabilise the system of government established by law" and thus no leniency should be shown towards them.

"All six accused hatched criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India...to shake and reduce the faith of common citizens in the democratic government by large scale violence destruction of life and property and thereby destabilize the system of government established by law, to organise and spread the thought of secessionist and rebellious thoughts...," Special Public Prosecutor Prashant Sathianathan argued before the court.

Sathianathan said that no reprieve should be granted to Saibaba as his disability had not proven to be an obstacle in aiding and abetting violent activities that claimed many lives.

"He is 90 per cent disabled but mentally fit. He is a think tank and has also participated in conferences in India and abroad. Therefore, no leniency should be granted to Saibaba on the grounds of disability," Sathianathan argued.

The prosecution relied heavily on electronic evidences seized from Saibaba's house in Delhi showing his "direct involvement" with left-wing extremism and "confessional statements" by Mahesh Tirki and Pandu Narote that they had been acting as couriers on behalf of Narmadakka for various people.

The electronic evidences included "original authorship" of letters written by the professor as Saibaba as well as with a pseudonym 'Prakash' in his capacity as the joint secretary of the RDF, and videos in which he was heard saying "Naxalbari is the only way".

The defence argued that National Investigation Agency (NIA) should have probed the case instead of the Gadchroli Police. It also said that electronic evidence against Saibaba were not sealed and had been tampered with. Defence counsel also claimed that the witnesses had been tutored by the district police.

Saibaba, an English professor, was first arrested by Maharashtra Police in May, 2014, for his alleged links with CPI (Maoist) and was lodged in the Nagpur central prison for over two years. He was released on interim bail by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court due to his deteriorating health.

He first came under the police's scanner after Mishra told police that he was acting as a courier between the professor and Maoist leaders. Mishra was arrested in 2013 while he was on his way to Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh, where Maoists have a stronghold.

Former journalist Rahi was also arrested in 2013 for his links with the extremists. The other three accused worked as couriers of documents and cash.

"Judgment is shocking, will move High Court soon"

"Our advocates will move High Court soon. This judgment is shocking. In the history of Maharashtra this is the first case in which all persons charge-sheeted, convicted in all sections with life imprisonment. The electronic evidences were not sealed. It seems state and central government have put a lot of pressure on judiciary to implement anti-people and undemocratic policies at the behest of corporates and MNCs."
— Vasantha, Saibaba's wife

"No one expected that a district judge would pronounce such a harsh sentence to all the accused."
— Local resident

"We are happy with the verdict as the Court held that the six accused are guilty of continuous offence, not a single day event and it's because of them the district has been facing Naxal violence for years."
— Dr Abhinav Deshmukh, Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli