Ex-TISS Student Arrested After Court Rejects Anticipatory Bail In GN Saibaba Memorial Case

Mumbai police have arrested a former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) student, Abhirup Paul, after a court rejected his anticipatory bail plea in connection with a case linked to a memorial gathering for G.N. Saibaba. The 32-year-old, identified by police as the accused in the GN Saibaba Memorial Case, was apprehended by Crime Branch Unit 6 from Chembur and produced before a magistrate's court on August 8.

Paul has been remanded in police custody until August 10. The arrest came shortly after Sessions Judge V.B. Bohra rejected Paul's and another TISS student, Kamakhya Prasad Das', anticipatory bail applications. Seven other accused received bail relief. The case centers around a peaceful memorial gathering held at TISS Mumbai campus in October last year, where nine students attended to pay tribute to Saibaba, who had a disability and was once a professor at Delhi University.

The gathering involved reciting poems and carrying placards, with some participants raising slogans demanding the release of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who face lengthy incarceration in connection with the Delhi riots case. The court's decision noted that engaging in such activities individually is not a criminal act; however, it also stated that students should "respect the Law of Land."

The defence argued that the gathering was a memorial event and the students' mention of prolonged legal proceedings was not an offense. Saibaba, who spent years in custody before his acquittal, passed away on October 12, 2024. The investigation into the TISS case is ongoing, with police examining the accused's involvement during the memorial gathering.