DU prof G N Saibaba dies months after decade-long legal battle and acquittal in Maoist case

The 57-year-old passed away due to post-operative complications following surgery for gallbladder stones, reported India Express.

Wheelchair-bound, Saibaba had been receiving treatment at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, where he had been admitted 10 days earlier due to deteriorating health.

According to his aides, he suffered a heart attack around 8 pm and was pronounced dead at 8:30 pm.

A former English professor, Saibaba was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on March 5 and was released from Nagpur Central Jail on March 7.

One of his aides Deepak Kumar, who was also a part of the Defence Committee,  said Saibaba was suffering from extreme pain in the gallbladder.

“We took him to a hospital in Vasant Kunj and also to AIIMS but we finally decided to admit him to NIMS in Hyderabad as we had family there and thought it would be a time taking procedure,” he told The Indian Express.

“He always spoke about getting his health better and getting back to his work for human rights. He also wanted to teach. His gallbladder was removed early this month; the surgery was successful and he was recovering. When I last spoke to him on October 6, we sounded alright. He asked me about a recent protest I had held, but his health started to derail around October 7,” Kumar said, adding that Saibaba had been having fever since Friday night.

Saibaba was also actively pursuing legal action to regain his position at Delhi University, according to close aides who spoke to The Indian Express. The most recent hearing for the case took place in September this year.

Saibaba was arrested on May 9, 2014, along with several others, by the Gadchiroli police in Maharashtra on charges of being members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its front group, the Revolutionary Democratic Front.

He was accused of facilitating a meeting between the other accused — JNU student Hem Mishra and Uttarakhand-based journalist Prashant Rahi — and members of these banned organizations.

Throughout his imprisonment, Saibaba's family and friends campaigned for his release, arguing that his health was rapidly declining.

A Division Bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes overturned the life sentence handed to him and acquitted five others charged in the case.

The bench stated that the acquittals were due to the prosecution’s failure to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

In a conversation with The Indian Express after his acquittal, Saibaba reflected, saying, “I lost much more than the 10 years I spent in jail.”