Mumbai: The Trombay Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against at least ten students from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai, for organising a "peaceful gathering" to commemorate the death anniversary of jailed Dalit activist and former Delhi University professor, GN Saibaba on Monday, October 13.
The FIR also claimed that the students raised slogans in support of former JNU students Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, who are currently behind bars in the Delhi riots case.
The students have been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for causing "prejudice to the nation, promoting enmity between groups, and unlawful assembly". A police officer quoted by The Indian Express said that the gathering was organised without any prior permission and that students had been issued notices accordingly.
Who Filed the FIR?
Rita Nemlekar, VPO, Trombay Police Station, told The Free Press Journal, the FIR was reportedly filed on a complaint from the TISS administration, which said it was unaware of the gathering and learned of it only through social media posts tagging the Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Students Call Allegations 'False and Misleading'
A group of students from the institution refuted allegations that they raised slogans in support of jailed activists Imam and Khalid during the memorial for Saibaba. However, they agreed that the permission for the gathering was not taken from the university administration. Our sources from the campus told us that "a small assembly was held on the evening of October 13, which was a quiet commemoration involving poetry readings, not a political demonstration."
One of the students, whose identity has been kept anonymous, told The Free Journal that around 10-15 individuals gathered on campus at around 7:30 pm on Monday to remember the late human rights activist, who passed away on October 12, to mark his first death anniversary.
They displayed a single printed photograph of Saibaba, nailed to a tree, and read three of his poems aloud before the dispersing within less than half an hour.
“No slogans were raised, no names like Sharjeel Imam or Umar Khalid were mentioned, and there were no banners or speeches. It was a brief, peaceful gathering,” our source said, requesting anonymity.
Images circulating on social media, feature a few students standing quietly around a tree, with candles lit around.
A picture of the peaceful gathering organised at the campus. | X/@MorE_Bhushan
'Right-Wing Student Group Provoked Tensions'
According to our sources, soon after the brief memorial ended, some right-leaning students arrived at the scene and tore down Saibaba’s photograph, shouting slurs and calling them "Naxal sympathisers." The confrontation, they said, led to an administrative intervention later that night.
Our source revealed that the police were called to the campus at around 11:00 pm and summons were sent to students involved in the gathering for questioning and collecting their details the following morning. "The administration and police have been grilling us, asking for our addresses and ideological leanings," a student said.
As per our source, two students have been taken to the police station since morning, for interrogation. However, none of the students named in the FIR have been arrested, confirmed Nemlekar.
Here's What the Administration Said
There is said to be heavy police deployment on the campus. Lawyers representing the students were also seen at the Trombay police station on Tuesday morning.
TISS officials told The Indian Express that show-cause notices will be issued to the students named in the FIR, calling it a "regular process" for rule violations.
We tried reaching out to the current vice-chancellor of TISS, Badri Narayan Tiwari, but he is yet to comment on the incident.
Who Is GN Saibaba?
GN Saibaba, a wheelchair-bound academic with over 90% disability, was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). He spent nearly a decade in prison before being acquitted by the Bombay High Court in 2023. He died in Hyderabad on October 12, 2024, months after his release.
Students said their intention was simply to remember Saibaba as a teacher and activist who stood for human rights and social justice. "Lighting candles and reading poems shouldn’t be seen as a crime," a student said.
