Delhi University professor G N Saibaba’s lawyer, Aakash Sarode alleged that the professor, who is serving a life sentence at Nagpur Central Prison for Maoist links, was denied access to several things like woollen cap, books, a towel and a wrist weight cuff for physiotherapy, which the lawyer had brought for his client, reported PTI.
The professor, who is bound to a wheelchair with 90 percent disabilities, was convicted by a court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli for links with Maoists and participating in activities that amounted to waging war against the country.
Talking to PTI on Sunday, 27 December, Sarode said that of the 34 different things that Saibaba wanted, the prison authorities accepted only 13 items. However, a senior official of the jail, informed that they have accepted all things deemed necessary for Saibaba and they cannot allow everything inside.
He said, “A month back, Prof Saibaba had consulted with the jail authorities about the essential things that he requires and which can be brought from outside. Subsequently, he made a list of the things and submitted an application to the jail authorities so that his family could send these articles.”
He added that on 24 December, he “went to the jail with all the material along with the list of items,” but “the jail staff refused to accept several things, which neither pose any security threat nor pose any danger of COVID-19 spread.”
Among the things refused were “a shampoo bottle, a woollen cap (monkey cap), a napkin, a handkerchief, a towel and a white T-shirt.”
Sarode said he e-mailed a letter to the superintendent of the jail regarding the matter. “I am yet to receive a reply from him,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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