The fresh raids by the NIA on Sunday at the residence of Delhi University professor Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case has triggered protests by human rights activists, lawyers, students and teachers, who condemned the action of the counter terror agency. The NIA, on Sunday, entered the house of the professor and searched the premises when his wife was present . Babu’s wife is also a professor in Delhi University .
“This appears to be unnecessary harassment of the family. His house has already been raided last year and one would expect that the police have already taken all that they found incriminating during that earlier search,” said Shalini Gera, a human rights lawyer with Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group, who had accused the law enforcement agencies in 2019 of spying on her via WhatsApp, using the Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Gera was among many human rights activists and lawyers whose names figured in the WhatsApp breach controversy.
“Does the NIA have any credible reason to believe that new material has surfaced in his house since then, or is this just harassment of the people involved,“ Gera told THE WEEK.
The teachers from Delhi University have already condemned Babu’s arrest saying it was an attempt to stifle dissenting voices.
Babu, an associate professor at Delhi University, was arrested on July 27 by the counter terror agency which accused him of being a co-conspirator in the Bhima Koregaon case, and propagating Naxal activities and Maoist ideology.
The NIA said electronic and financial evidence in the form of one account ledger, one receipt book of the Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr. G. N. Saibaba, several documents and electronic items such as a hard disk and USB pen drive were recovered during the searches at the residence of Babu in Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh .
According to NIA, Babu, along with other accused—Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, P. Varavara Rao and Surendra Gadling—had formed a committee for the release of G.N. Saibaba who was sentenced to life imprisonment over his links with CPI (Maoist).
During Sunday's searches at Babu’s house, NIA sources said they have taken into possession crucial financial evidence of transactions along with other electronic evidence that showed his links with other co-accused in propagating the Maoist ideology.
The NIA said further investigation revealed that Babu was in contact with Paikhomba Meitei, secretary, information and publicity, Military Affairs, Kangkeipak Communist Party (MC), an organisation banned under 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,” said an NIA statement . The investigation also revealed that after the release of CPI (Maoist) leader Pallath Govindankutty, Hany Babu, along with co- accused Rona Wilson, took the initiative to help him financially by raising funds, it said .
The NIA case relates to the organisation of Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017 which allegedly promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence, resulting in loss of life and property and state-wide agitation in Maharashtra.
The NIA said it's investigation revealed that the Elgar Parishad, along with Maoist leaders, used the incident to spread the Naxal ideology and encourage unlawful activities on the instructions of the leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist).
