End of 8 years of pain, now focus on getting him treated, says Saibaba’s wife

New Delhi/Nagpur: “After eight years of agony, anticipation, pain, and fear, we are very happy that he can finally re-unite with his family,” was the first reaction of AS Vasantha Kumari, wife of Professor GN Saibaba, who was on Friday acquitted by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court in an alleged Maoist links case. He was ordered to be immediately released from jail.
“We are very happy about the judgment, for which we waited eight long years. We are also thankful to all those who stood beside us in tough times and supported us, thankful to judges as well for the verdict,” said Vasantha before heading to Nagpur.
In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district had convicted Saibaba and others for alleged Maoist links under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Vasantha recollects that these eight years were extremely emotionally challenging, where just a phone call from the advocate would make her skip a heartbeat. “All these years were painful and stressful, not just for him but us as well. Every time the advocate would call, I would get very nervous. There always used to be a trauma like what news is he going to break, what worse will we have to hear now... eight years have just gone in this agony and fear,” she said.
Vasantha, claimed that her husband, who is 90 per cent disabled is facing further damage to his body owing to his prolonged stay in jail. “His health has deteriorated. Earlier, even with 90 per cent disability, he managed his own work and both his hands were working fine. He would sit in a wheelchair or get up on his own. But after arrest, his left hand muscles were damaged, and he has become paralysed. His right hand too is partially paralysed. UAPA has actually broken him,” she said.
Saibaba now needs two helpers to carry out his day-to-day work. He also suffered from Covid in jail, she said. “Saibaba developed 19 health complications in jail and also lost his career due to the incarceration. We will have to give him immediate medical attention when he comes out,” said Vasantha. “All the while we were worried that even he may end up like Stan Swamy,” she said. Swamy, an accused in Elgar Parishad case, died in July 2021 in jail.
The first plan that Vasantha has for Saibaba is to take care of his poor health. “We have to admit him in hospital and give him treatment. In between, Covid hit his health further. Despite living at home, we still struggle with the after-effects of the virus, so imagine what he must be going through. He doesn’t even get healthy food, no good care to recover,” she mentioned.
In May, Saibaba also went on a hunger strike inside jail to protest a CCTV camera, which he alleged was capturing footage of his toilet and bathing area.
“Anda cell is a torture cell, his intellectual freedom and expression have been crushed to death. Not only has he lost his health, but he has also lost years of academic life and good health while in exile. He has survived in extremely hard conditions, he lived in pressure and so did we, despite being miles away,” says Vasantha.