DUTA PROTESTS WRONGFUL DETENTION OF DR SAIBABA ;
DEMANDS IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) expresses shock and anguish at the manner in which the Maharashtra Police has arrested and detained Dr. G. N. Saibaba (Asst. Professor, English at RLA College) under the UAPA. The DUTA is categorical in its understanding that the circumstances of Dr. Saibaba’s arrest and detention amount to a grievous violation of human rights by the Government.
Dr. Saibaba has been a reputed teacher of English at RLA College and has been serving in various statutory committees related to the functioning of the college. He has been a committed activist for the rights of SC, ST and Backward sections of teachers and students in the University. The DUTA is intrigued that the University has not even tried to defend the rights of its employee while allowing a police team to secretly raid the campus residence of Dr. Saibaba on a couple of occasions in the past and to abduct him from the vicinity of a campus college, this time.
The investigating police teams have flouted the law on all these occasions and denied Dr. Saibaba his rights as a citizen. During the earlier raids, the police ransacked his home and confiscated his personal belongings without either sealing the items or issuing him an official receipt of the articles picked up. This raises significant doubt about the process of police inquiry and the collection of evidence. This time, despite Dr. Saibaba’s assurance that he will cooperate with the investigations, he was intercepted in the middle of the road and abducted like a common criminal. The DUTA has also learned that his driver was blindfolded and brutally dragged into a separate car so as to prevent him from seeing and reporting on anything that followed. The DUTA questions this manner of ‘law enforcement’ and raises a serious concern over the means through which the Maharashtra Police have acted.
Dr. Saibaba suffers from 90% disability due to polio and has been suffering on account of coronary ailments and hypertension in the recent past. The police have chosen to ignore his ailing condition in the most inhuman manner. Till date, his family has not been issued a single official document pertaining to his arrest or the charges levelled against him. The DUTA takes a serious note of this situation and demands that the Government must release him without any further delay.
The DUTA also appeals to the College and University authorities to intervene on behalf of Dr. Saibaba and ensure that his rights are safeguarded. Failure to do so will send a wrong signal to the teaching community which is expected to discharge its duty in expressing free and fair opinion in support of democracy and intellectual freedom.
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