The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at the Noida residence of an associate professor of Delhi University who was arrested last week for allegedly promoting “Naxal activities and Maoist ideology” in a case pertaining to 2018 Bhima Koregaon riots.
The NIA claimed that the accused, Hany Babu M.T, was in contact with Paikhomba Meitei, Secretary, Information and Publicity, Military Affairs, Kangkeipak Communist Party, an organisation banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“An interview of Ganapathy, General Secretary of CPI (Maoist), was shared by Paikhomba Meitei with the accused Hany Babu. Communications of Hany Babu with other Maoists of Manipur have also been retrieved,” the NIA said in a statement on Sunday.
The agency said that after the release of CPI (Maoist) leader Pallath Govindankutty, Mr. Hany Babu, along with other accused Rona Wilson, took the initiative to help him by raising funds.
“Mr. Hany Babu, along with other accused persons, Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, P. Varavara Rao and Surendra Gadling, formed a committee for the release of G.N. Saibaba, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for his links with the CPI (Maoist),” the NIA said.
During the search of Mr. Hany Babu’s house, the NIA seized one account ledger, one receipt book of the Committee for the Defence and Release of G.N. Saibaba, several documents and electronic items such as hard disk, USB pen drive etc.
Mr. Hany Babu, 54, a resident of Noida in Uttar Pradesh, teaches at the English department of Delhi University.
The case was transferred from the Pune police to the NIA in January. The accused has been arrested under various Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The NIA said in a statement that the case arose out of a case registered in Pune regarding inciting people and giving provocative speeches during Elgar Parishad organised by the activists of Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada, Pune, on December 31, 2017, which “promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence resulting in loss of life and property and State-wide agitation in Maharashtra.”
The Pune police filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet in this case on November 15, 2018 and February 21, 2019 respectively.
Bail rejected
The NIA took up the investigation of the case on January 24 and in April arrested civil rights campaigner Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde, an engineer and IIM graduate, who taught at IIT Kharagpur. The duo surrendered to the NIA after a Supreme Court Bench rejected their anticipatory bail pleas.
Earlier, in 2018, the Pune police arrested activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao for their alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon riots.