File pic: Delhi University Professor G Saibaba
Delhi University professor GN Saibaba has been arrested by the Maharashtra police for alleged links with Maoists.
The wheelchair-bound English professor was arrested in Delhi today by a team from Maharashtra's Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district.
Police sources say he was in direct touch with absconding members of the banned CPI-Maoist, including their top leader Ganpathy.
"We have brought him to Nagpur from Delhi. Professor G Saibaba has been booked under sections 13, 18, 20, 39 of UAPA Act," Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Anti-Naxal Operations told NDTV.
Mr Saibaba had been questioned in January by a police team that confronted him with evidence from his computer, seized in raids. Sources say policy documents and strategy papers linked to CPI Maoists were recovered from him.
The professor's name came up after the arrest of two alleged Maoist sympathisers, Hem Mishra and Prashant Rahi, in December. Both had reportedly claimed that Mr Saibaba was their main contact and based on their information, the police seized the professor's computer.
Hem Mishra, who was arrested with a microchip, allegedly said he was carrying instructions to Maoist leaders at Gadchiroli.
The police allege that Professor Saibaba was an overground worker for the CPI-Maoist, a charge that he denies.
After his questioning in January, the professor had said he had been asked on his "political activities and academic interests," and he had "answered their doubts and questions to the best of my abilities and without any restraint."
"The manner in which he was picked up andarrested by the police shows that this is an attempt to silence him. The arrestis shocking," said Nandita Narain, President of Delhi UniversityStudent's Union (DUSU).