Ex-Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, acquitted in UAPA case, dies in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Human rights activist and former Delhi University professor Dr G N Saibaba, 58, who was acquitted by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court in March this year, passed away at a hospital in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Dr Saibaba had been admitted to NIMS hospital around ten days ago due to ill health.

Saibaba was born in a poor peasant family in Andhra Pradesh’s Amalapuram. Affected by polio, Saibaba had been wheelchair-bound since the age of five. Recently, he underwent a surgery for gall bladder and pancreas-related ailments at NIMS.

Saibaba, an English professor at Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College, was arrested by the Maharashtra Police in 2014 for suspected links with Maoists, and was lodged in Nagpur jail until his acquittal in March.

During his custody Saibaba’s family had repeatedly sought bail, citing his deteriorating health due to physical disability.

According to Saibaba's family members, he suffered from multiple ailments including Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with left ventricular dysfunction, hypertension, kidney stones, a cyst in his brain, pancreatic problems, attenuation of the shoulder and arm muscles, and nerve-related issues resulting in partial paralysis of his upper limbs, leaving him 90 per cent disabled.